


our eternity

by aerobreaking



Series: hold on, I still need you [6]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Arranged Marriage, M/M, Original Character(s), but we're in SPACE huns, ok this is the logh au that no one asked for yet i couldn't get it out of my head for literal MONTHS, ooc-ness??? maybe idk i'll let you guys decide, theres too much angst in the victurio tag and sometimes i just want something mushy yknow, though tbh who knows if this is even it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:34:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 30,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25852927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aerobreaking/pseuds/aerobreaking
Summary: Despite being the most powerful piece in the game, Yuri knows that he's still just a pawn to men like Viktor, who play the game ruthlessly and without scruples. Or, at least, that's what he thought. (It turns out Viktor isn't as unaffected as he initially believed.)
Relationships: Victor Nikiforov/Yuri Plisetsky
Series: hold on, I still need you [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1728439
Comments: 16
Kudos: 78





	1. our eternity

**Author's Note:**

> ok, so a little heads up before you get into this.
> 
> this was inspired by legend of the galactic heroes but it's also a mix of issac asimov's galactic empire and the star wars universe galactic empire. in conclusion, it's IN SPACE. and it's an empire. LOL. I don't think I did a great job with the whole 'political unrest' thing because I feel like that's would require like...a lot of world-building which I did do...in my head but didn't have the confidence to actually commit to writing bc that would take A LOT of time and effort which don't have. LOL 
> 
> ANYWAY, enjoy!!!
> 
> [Edited: 11/19/2020  
> thank you to everyone who left me comments, kudos, and bookmarked! I appreciate every single one! I've edited this a bit because there were some things that I left off that I felt needed more clarification. And can y'all believe this AU still hasn't left me alone? I think about writing an extra chapter a lot but idk if that's ever gonna happen bc my motivation is ~UNRELIABLE~  
> lololol, anyway, thanks again!)

* * *

** In the year one hundred ninety-seven of the New Imperial Calendar, Emperor Dieter von Lohengramm dies after a long battle with a** ** mysterious illness, and his seven legitimate children fight amongst each other for the right to rule. Unbeknownst to them, the Emperor names Yuri, the son of his last mistress, as the next successor. But Yuri is only six at the time of the Emperor's death so Prince Andreas, the Emperor's current Consort, fills in as Regent until the boy is twelve. **

**However, Prince Regent Andreas doesn't pass the helm of the throne without resisting, claiming that Yuri is still too young to fully take control of the Empire, and argues to remain in power until Yuri is eighteen. The royal council is split in half on the decision and there is much debate about it. Eventually, the answer is to have Yuri assume the throne but Prince Andreas will remain Regent and overlook the decision making until Yuri is of age. Of course, keeping Yuri as Emperor is the last thing Prince Regent Andreas wants and he plans to make sure Yuri _doesn't_ reach eighteen.  **

** In the shadows, a third party also moves quietly, trying to use the turmoil brewing in the palace to end the reign of the Lohengramm Dynasty. **

* * *

When Viktor is eleven, his mother gives him a kiss on the forehead and leaves, at the request of Emperor Dieter, to the Royal Harem. 

She comes back a year later.

In a casket. 

With seething, blinding rage, Viktor swears he will annihilate the Lohengramm dynasty with his own hands. He’ll kill every single one of that man’s descendants, from the oldest to the youngest. He would tear apart everything that man had built until there was nothing left, and he would wipe their names from history until no one remembered they ever existed.

It takes many years, many sleepless nights to get to where he is. He had climbed the ranks of the Imperial Navy through pure tenaciousness and grit until he was promoted to Imperial Fleet Admiral. And when Regent Prince Andreas decides to take control of the Empire, Viktor is the admiral he trusts to silently dispose of the people that would oppose him—the _other_ children of the Emperor. For Viktor, the job is like killing two birds with one stone. Yet he knows it's not enough to attain what he wants especially since the Regent has his own agenda and could turn on him at any moment. Eventually, all the battles blow up into a full-scale civil war and it seems as though Viktor's revenge would fulfill itself all on its own. So long as the royal family killed themselves, he didn't care what happened to this Empire. 

So years later, marrying the seventh Emperor of the Lohengramm dynasty can be considered part of the plan. 

Falling in love with him, however, is not.

* * *

Viktor meets him _officially_ a day before their wedding ceremony. That entire day he'd been rehearsing the event over and over, but they had never rehearsed together. Viktor had done a run-through of the whole thing three times with a no-name Marquess playing the part of his intended. He could only assume the same thing had been done without him.

Commander Otabek comes knocking at the door of his chambers at eleven o’clock at night and tells Viktor, “He’d like to speak with you.”

He's a little surprised if he's being honest, he was not expecting the boy to make any requests.

But Viktor nonetheless nods and follows the Commander as silently as he can for if anyone found out he’d visited him before the set time, he’s sure he’d be executed. Andreas was not a man to be crossed and he wouldn't hesitate to make an example out of Viktor, even if he was to marry his stepson in less than twenty-four hours. So with a bated breath enters the dark meeting room where he's supposed to meet him. Unsurprisingly, there’s a screen separating them, and Viktor bows even though he doesn't know if the boy is able to see him or not.

“He’s here,” Otabek announces, slightly lowering his head.

“Leave us.” A voice comes. It’s a commanding voice, one used to being obeyed, used to having control but to Viktor’s ears it sound’s just like what he is. It’s the voice of a child, barely beginning to drop. 

His fiancé is thirteen.

Otabek gives Viktor a once over and though he looks hesitant does as he's been ordered. When the door closes behind him, the room is quiet for a long moment before the boy on the other end of the screen says, “Why did you agree to the arrangement?”

“It’s an honor.” He says because it’s the truth. _Because I want to kill your family,_ he wisely does not say.

“Do you love anyone?” 

This makes Viktor pause, why would he be asking something like that? But he answers with a firm, “No.”

“Are you lying to me?”

“I would never lie. Not to you.” 

Another silence passes this one stretching on longer than Viktor feels comfortable with, he wonders if he said the wrong thing. Eventually, though the boy says, “You can go.”

He bows one last time and leaves, hoping he passed whatever pointless test that was. The next day, when he’s lifting the veil over the boy's head, the greenest eyes look up at him shinning in a mixture of contempt and annoyance. He’s smaller than what Viktor expected but undeniably more beautiful. He would grow up to be a work of art. It's a shame that he would die beautiful. 

“You may kiss,” Regent Prince Andreas' voice interrupted his dark thoughts. 

Vikor waited, it was not his place to initiate the kiss. His— _his—_ mate had to. So when the younger boy leaned up, Viktor took this as permission and faintly brushed his lips against his.

“And so,” Regent Andreas began as they separated, “With this union, Emperor Dieter’s final wish is fulfilled, I wish you both happiness, and may the heavens bless you.” The speech continues on, Andreas putting on a show for all the people watching the broadcast, but it fades into the background of Viktor’s attention as he focuses on his husband. He looks bored as if this entire event was a waste of his time, it makes Viktor a little amused.

“So now, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, The Leader of all Humanity, Sovereign of all the Universe, Defender of Law and Order Governing the Heavenly Realm, Kaiser of the Sacred New Galactic Empire, His Imperial Majesty Yuri von Lohengramm, and his Royal Consort, Prince Viktor Nikiforov.”

* * *

* * *

They come for him when he's six. 

He’s sitting on a chair as his grandfather, mother, and a bunch of men in their navy uniforms speak about things he can’t really understand. His feet, bare and dirty from playing all day, don’t even reach the floor yet. Up until ten minutes ago, he’d been running outside on the fields of Odin with the other kids from his street. Now he sits here, watching as the adults argue and his mother cries. The atmosphere is tense and heavy and Yuri wants it to stop already. He wants the men to leave, he wants to eat dinner, and for his mother to stop crying.

The men are all tall and imposing, their military uniforms without any wrinkles and their faces set into cold stone apathy. But his mother still says to their faces, “You can’t have him.” They do not even deign her with a response.

“My grandson is no prince.” His grandfather tries to argue, “He was—he was never— “

“Ah, but you see,” The oldest man says, pulling out a letter from his pocket and holding it up, the seal of the Emperor visible, “His Imperial Majesty did. He is now formally a member of the Royal family.”

His mother lets out a cry that sounds like a wounded animal. “No—No—Dad, don’t let them take him—please—dad—“ She cries, grabbing his grandfather’s shirt and shaking him, “ _Please_. They'll kill him.”

Yuri looks up at him just as his grandfather looks down and his face is sad as if his heart was breaking. He turns his eyes away. Resigned. He hugs his daughter close, as she grabs his shirt in her fists, and it’s a long time before her hysterics calm down.

The tear tracks on her face make her look more skinny than she already is. She comes to hug him and she kisses his forehead. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you, Yura,” She says, backing away from him and looking as though the world had ended. 

His grandfather gives him a small smile and ruffles his hair as he says, “I love you, my little prince.” His voice chokes on the nickname he’s been calling him by since Yuri could remember. He backs away also and then, much to his surprise, watches as his grandfather, his mother, and every other man empty the room. For a moment there is nothing but stillness but then, the door opens and  Andreas comes in not even bothering to say anything to him. Instead, he lifts Yuri off the chair roughly by his arm as he commands, "Let's go." 

Yuri struggles but the older man's grip is firm and painful and when he calls out for his grandfather and mother, they do not come to his aid. 

* * *

The thing is, Yuri wants to go to school but Katsudon is too much of a coward to go against what Andreas says. Yuuri’s argument is that there’s no point in Yuri going to a cadet school if he has the best tutors at his disposal already. Which, yeah sure, his tutors are great but they're _so_ boring. 

Actually, the entire estate is just a damned prison that he can’t seem to escape from. 

“Here you are,” Andreas had said, as he opened the door of the transport and gave a wide sweeping gesture to the estate, “Your new home.” When Yuri had stepped out of the car, it had looked beautiful, as a gilded cage often does. 

His household consists of twenty people who are all there to maintain the property and his wellbeing. The most notable ones are the people he spends the most time with. Anna, a serious, no-nonsense, taciturn woman is his tutor. She teaches him everything from math to Galactic history, to geopolitical conflicts, to ethics and philosophy. Georgie teaches him how to ride a horse and navigate a ship. Mila is his bodyguard and anywhere he goes, she moves behind him like a shadow. And finally, Yuuri, though he's not a permanent fixture, he only comes twice a month to check on his general health and to test him on the things he's learned.

There are others too, servants who do not look at him in the eye and gardeners who avoid him like a plague. Besides them, he’s pretty sure no one even knows about his existence. 

Ever since being dropped off here five years ago, he hasn’t seen the outside world once. The holos don’t count, because if Yuri isn’t experiencing it himself then it _doesn’t_ count. He misses the sprawling fields of his home planet, he misses running with his friends and playing until the sunset without anyone telling him what to do. He misses the pastries his grandfather would bake for him and the soups his mom would cook for dinner. He misses the feeling of things that were _real_ and not just holographic illusions. 

But whatever, the pressing issue at this point in time is: he wants to go to school. He’s tired of being here, even pod racing simulations with Georgie have gotten boring because as of six months ago, Georgie loses every single time. 

“How are you so good at this?” He’d murmur every time when the scores would light up the screen and Yuri’s was twice as good as his. Yuri could only shrug. 

He keeps bothering Yuuri about the school thing though because Andreas listens to him. Sometimes. Rarely. But...it’s Yuri’s best bet.

“Come on, Katsudon, please.” He begs when Yuuri has already told him no before he even gets a chance to ask again. “Nobody will even know me!”

“Yura, you know it’s not possible.” He sighs sadly, “To enroll you in a school you have to submit your biometrics into the system, and you...well...we can’t risk anyone knowing who you really are.”

“But _why_?” He asks, not for the first time. Why can’t Yuri go outside? Why can’t he go to school? Why does he have to hide away here in this place like a criminal? Why did they take him away from his home planet and his mom and his grandfather? Why do they keep telling him that he’s important but won’t explain _who_ he’s important to? 

The older man sighs, “I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

Yuri huffs, irritated, “You’re just like everyone else.”

“Let me tell you a story, Yuri.” He says instead, “You’re super smart, so maybe you can tell me what it means.”

Yuri looks up, and frowns, “Fine, be that way. Ignore me.”

The dark-haired man laughs, “Just listen okay.” He takes a slow inhale and then begins, “A long time ago there was a magician and a prince that were best friends. They grew up together and if one did something, the other would do it too. But one day, a bad man killed the prince’s family and he became...different. The magician didn’t really know what to do, his friend had turned into someone he couldn’t recognize.” He looks a little wistful as he says this, “The prince wanted to fill the void in his heart, and he thought he could do it by collecting all the flowers in the galaxy. The magician helped the prince in all that he could, giving him advice and helping him cast spells on people that tried to oppose the prince. For a long time, the magician thought that if he did as the prince asked, the prince would return to being like he was before.”

He looks at Yuri, his gaze leveled, “You see, the magician was in love with the prince and the only way he thought he could help him was by helping him find flowers in the galaxy. It didn’t matter who or what stood in his way, the magician would do anything for the prince. But the prince became more and more obsessed with finding the flowers, he searched for them high and low, from one end of the galaxy to another. The magician helped him as much as he could, but the more they searched the more the magician realized that the prince had lost some of his humanity along the way. The prince had become cruel and mean and the magician didn’t know what to do anymore. But he continued helping him anyway.”

“And then,” He makes a dramatic pause, swallowing thickly, “They found an orchid, the last remaining orchid in the galaxy, and it was guarded by a little gold canary. The prince instantly wanted to take the flower from the canary but the magician—afraid of what the prince had become—told him to wait. He told him, ‘You must finish finding the other flowers first before you take the orchid from this canary.’ The prince didn’t want to at first but eventually, he agreed and said to the magician, ‘Take care of this canary and the orchid for me until I return with the other flowers, be sure to keep it safe.’” 

Yuuri takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly before continuing, “So the magician did, he took the canary with him but the more he spent time with the canary, the more the magician realized that he didn’t want the prince to take the orchid from him. The orchid belonged to the canary, it was rightfully his. So the magician decided to smash the orchid into tiny, tiny pieces, and every day, he would feed a piece of it to the canary. He did this for many years until the canary finished eating it. But when the prince returned to take the orchid from the canary, he realized what the magician had done and he was furious and he told the magician, ‘It doesn’t matter that he’s eaten it, I will tear his stomach open and take the orchid for myself.’”

Yuuri stops talking and Yuri waits for him to continue but he doesn’t.

“What?” He asks, finally, looking Yuuri with raised eyebrows, “Is that the end of the story?”

Yuuri shifts in his seat a little embarrassed, “Yes.”

“That’s the worst story I’ve ever heard!” The blond exclaims, throwing his hands up in the air, “What was the _point_?”

“I—well, I don’t really know. I think it’s incomplete.”

“Are you still writing it or something?”

“It’s not my story,” Yuuri tells him, “But what do you think the magician should do?”

Yuri shrugs, “It seems to me that the magician is a piece of shit.”

“O-oh, why do you say that?”

“Just because you’re in love with someone doesn't mean you should let them do whatever they want. Especially if it’s hurting others. That's just being an asshole.”

Yuuri looks at him strangely for a beat too long, but then he smiles, his eyes soft and kind. “See, Yuri, you’re so smart.”

“Bleh,” Yuri says, shuddering at his compliment, “It’s common sense.”

“That might be true, but sometimes people are blind and they need someone to tell them things bluntly.”

Yuri rolls his eyes, “If your intention was to distract me you failed, stupid Katsudon. Tell Andreas to let me go to school.”

The older man laughs, “I’ll see what he says.”

Andreas decidedly does _not_ let him go to school. The man is running the entire palace and Empire until the farthest reaches of the galaxy and still manages to micromanage everything Yuri does. It’s absolutely infuriating. He comes by, occasionally, but when he’s there he spends his time in the library, reading through old holos and old books and he doesn’t really look at Yuri with anything more than thinly disguised contempt. 

He’s only been able to see his mother and grandfather once since he left Odin. They had come when Yuri was seven, for two weeks, and his mother had told him cryptically, “Don’t trust anyone here, Yura.”

He didn’t understand then and he still doesn’t understand now. 

But the following year, at twelve, Yuri finally understands.

* * *

Yuri stands still as one of the servants moves around the dressing room, tittering from one place to another, overwhelmed by the fact that Yuri’s shoes don’t shine symmetrically when the light falls on them. He almost wants to roll his eyes, the day hasn’t even really began yet and he’s already feeling like he’s going to have an aneurysm.

“It’s fine,” He tells her, “It’s only a rehearsal.”

“You’re right about that, Your Highness, but it won’t be a rehearsal tomorrow. It’s _unacceptable_. I will need to have an extensive talk with the staff.”

Yuri just sighs not unwilling to get into that argument with her.

He hasn’t slept more than three hours a day in the past two weeks, rehearsing and rehearsing and _rehearsing._ The same things over and over. He’d had to sit through seven mock coronation runs for the past few days and today he’s going to have to sit through _another_ one. His cranium feels as though it’s going to cave in because of the weight of the crown—and all it’s expectations. 

The thing barely stays on his head, it’s too big, too heavy, too much, _too much—_

There’s a knock on the door and it’s this that snaps Yuri out of his spiraling musings.

“Come in,” Yuri says, and the door opens to reveal Yuuri.

Yuri almost sighs in relief—at least it wasn’t Andreas. He doesn’t have the patience to deal with Andreas. 

“Good morning, Your Highness,” Yuuri greets vowing his head. “I hope you enjoyed your rest.”

“What rest?” He snaps. “I haven’t slept in three days.”

Yuuri doesn't answer and the servant averts her eyes and says, bowing, “I have to speak to the tailor, excuse me.”

Yuri waves his hand, dismissing her.

When the door shuts behind her, Yuri deflates. His shoulders slump and his head falls forward. He wants nothing more than to find a sleeping pod and stay there forever—maybe that way he wouldn’t have to go through with this. He sits on the armchair and Yuuri, at least, has the foresight to not comment at his earlier quip.

“Would you like to drink something?” He asks instead.

“No.” Yuri clips. Angry, suddenly, at Yuuri, at Andreas, at the entire fucking _galaxy_ for doing this to him. At his mother too, but more than anything at that fucking asshole of a father he had. He hopes he’s rotting in hell. 

“Highness—“

“Will you _drop_ the Highness already?” He cuts. Not in the mood for this entire charade. He’s going to be Emperor only in name, at twelve years old, he doubts anyone will listen to what he has to say, much less _do_ what he says. He’s just a child trying to play grown-up and he’s sure the entire empire knows it. Andreas is moving the pieces of the board as he sees fit and Yuri can't do anything about it. 

Yuuri gives a little laugh, “I’m sorry, Yura. I don’t ever want to slip up in front of anyone.”

Yuri rubs at his temples, feeling more exhausted than ever. 

“How are you feeling?” The older man asks.

“What do you think, Katsudon?” He asks, dropping his hands to lay uselessly on his lap. “I’m getting crowned Emperor of the New Galactic Empire tomorrow. twenty-five million planets.” He takes a shuddering breath, and after a pause sarcastically says, “No pressure or anything.”

“It’s okay to be scared, Yuri.”

“At this point, I think I’m past feeling anything at all.”

Yuuri doesn’t say anything and instead comes to sit beside him, “I know it seems like something totally out of your depth right now, but Yura, you’re the _only_ person that can do this.”

Yeah, because the only reason the son of a mistress is getting crowned is because all the legitimate heirs are either dead or on the _other_ side of the war. 

“You know, Yura,” Yuuri continues, taking his hand in his, “I believe you have the potential to be the Emperor this galaxy needs right now.”

“Yeah?” Yuri questions, “You’re probably putting your hopes on something empty.”

“No.” Yuuri says, his voice firm, “I know you can be a great Emperor. I _know_ it. I have watched over you since you came to the estate, I’ve seen first hand how smart and empathetic you can be. I know it’s going to take a while for the admirals to listen to what you have to say, and they’re probably going to make you feel stupid and like a child at times. But Yura, you _can’t give up._ At the end of the day, _you are_ the Emperor and if you don’t sign the ideas they propose to you, then their hands are tied.”

Yuri looks at Yuuri’s hopeful eyes and feels—almost sorry for him. 

“Andreas isn’t going to let me do _anything._ ” He answers, finally, almost desperate. “ _You_ know that.” 

Yuuri smiles, almost sad, “Yuri, what type of Emperor would you like to be?”

Yuri blinks, taken aback, not really expecting the loaded question. Yuri has thought about it, a lot, in fact. He wants to be a good Emperor, one that doesn’t go down in history hated but rather revered— _legendary._ Like the first Lohengramm Emperor. He wants to end this war, wants to help his people, he wants to be a _good_ ruler. He doesn’t know if that’s a foolish dream, a childish hope, but he wants his people to not lose their loved ones anymore to senseless battles. He wants the nobility to stop using its influence to send the poor to fight their battles for them. Yuri knows about being poor, he knows how much people just want to _live,_ how much they want to _survive._

“I want to be a good Emperor a-a kind one,” He whispers, almost afraid that the walls are listening in to his naive wish.

“If you want to be a kind Emperor,” Yuuri begins, “You’ll have to work harder than anyone else. In this galaxy, kindness is seen as a weakness but Yura, it’s not. It’s a strength.”

The boy doesn’t answer, instead just grips his robes tightly, trying to keep the frustrated tears at bay. 

“Whatever,” He murmurs, turning away from him. “What are you doing here anyway? I thought you’d be busy.”

Yuuri doesn’t say anything else about the matter and just smiles kindly as he always does, “I’m here to cut your hair.”

“Mmmm,” Yuri mumbles, “Well I guess you better get started then.”

As per the tradition of the Lohengramm Dynasty, this would be the last hair cut Yuri would ever get.

* * *

Yuri inherits a legacy of war. 

He is the crowned Leader of all Humanity, Sovereign of all the Universe, Defender of Law and Order Governing the Heavenly Realm, Kaiser of the Sacred New Galactic Empire, His Imperial Majesty, Yuri von Lohengramm, the first of his name. 

It's a fucking nightmare. And a joke.

He’s the youngest Emperor of the Lohengramm Dynasty to take the throne. He can’t even wear the Imperial Navy Uniform yet. His father—if one could even call the old, decrypt bastard that—had acknowledged him as his son only because he could not bend the will of his older sons. The ones who wanted to split the Milky Way into two and the ones who had proclaimed themselves as an independent entity from the Empire when they didn't get the throne they rightfully believed to be theirs. The rebels, the traitors, the ones who Yuri would have to crush under his thumb. Or at least, Adreas would. In his name.

After being crowned Emperor, Yuri’s first assassination attempt happens not even two months after. It hits close to home. _Too_ close to home.

That morning he was going pod racing with Georgie and he’d been excited because it was the first time since the coronation that he would be able to go out and do something other than sitting on the throne or in a meeting room as his admirals and advisors argued about what to do in regards his older brothers. Mila had been particularly tense that day, and when Yuri asked, she just shrugged and said, “I just have a bad feeling.”

“Maybe it’s just constipation,” Yuri had joked.

Mila wrinkled her nose, “I sincerely hope that’s all it is.”

When they had reached the field the two pods were waiting innocently, fueled, and ready to go. Georgie had greeted them and Yuri was glad that the older man mostly treated him the same. He didn’t do anything stupid like bow or try to coddle him, it was refreshing. 

“You ready to lose?” Yuri asked casually as he fastened the straps of his flight suit.

“Oooh, your Imperial Majesty I’ve been practicing while you’ve been living it up in the palace. I think I have the advantage.”

“I beat you when I was ten so I’m sure I can do it again.”

Georgie threw his head back and laughed, “I was going easy on you.”

Yuri rolled his eyes, “Yeah right.”

“So,” The older man gestured to the two pods, “Which one would you like to pilot today?”

Yuri chooses the smaller of the two and it had been the right choice.

The pod Georgie had chosen had burst into flames in the middle of their race. Yuri had only seen a flash of light out of the corner of his eye but he’d heard Georgie’s screaming voice through his headset and then the massive explosion that knocked Yuri’s own pod out of the sky. Yuri didn’t remember much of what had happened next, he had just sat frozen on his pod as he saw the video visual of Georgie’s pod being reduced to scraps of metal and debris. He remembered the silence though. The awful, _awful_ silence. He didn’t remember how his entire personal guard had descended into the field a mere minute after everything had happened. He didn’t remember who pried open his pod to get him out, or how he made it back to the palace, all he could think was: _Georgie’s dead. Georgie’s dead. Georgie’s dead. He’s dead. He’s dead. He’s gone._

Andreas runs a deep investigation into the incident and they’re able to discover that someone had tampered with the electrical engine and the pod Yuri had been in had also been seconds away from being blown to kingdom come. It leaves Yuri reeling and something—a realization—dawns on him. Someone wanted to kill him. Someone wanted him dead. And it was his fault Georgie was dead. _Georgie’s dead because of me._

He must say that out loud because Andreas looks up from the report he’d been reading to him, “No, Your Majesty,” He says, his voice perfectly cool, “He died protecting you. Anyone in this palace would be honored to die for you. His family is immensely proud of him.”

Yuri can’t even open his mouth to tell Andreas what a _stupid_ thing that is. Honored? To die? For a puppet Emperor? And that bullshit about his family is a loaded lie of absolute shit. Georgie was a person, he—he had been with Yuri since he’d arrived at the estate, he was Yuri’s _friend._ How could anyone say that he died for a just cause? How could Andreas stand there and lie to him to his face?

Yuri clenched his fist around his robes so tightly his knuckles turned white. He pressed his jaw closed tightly, trying to blink away his tears, and through sheer force of will kept himself from making a scene. Andreas continued reading but Yuri didn’t pay more attention to what he was saying. 

“So who are the suspects?” He cuts.

“Prince Roy is the most likely candidate. He must have some quiet support from the nobles in the palace.”

“Well,” Yuri says, standing up to his full height and he still doesn’t even reach Andreas' shoulders, “I want the mole dealt with immediately, I don’t care what you do.”

Andreas leaves and days later, a man is executed for tampering with the pods. Yuri doesn’t attend the execution but he does attend Georgie’s funeral and though he just wants to mourn his friend in private, as the Emperor he cannot fade into the background. At least, Yuuri is by his side, thwarting any attempts made by the media to get a statement out of him. He doesn’t stay for longer than twenty minutes, he wants to get out of the family’s hair so they can mourn their son, their brother, and friend in peace. 

On the transport, he leans his head against the window, and even though he doesn’t want them to, tears slip down his cheeks. Yuuri wordlessly hands him tissues and leaves him alone. The second assassination comes not even five months later and well, no one dies on his behalf that time, at least. There is a noble executed once again.

The third time—the third time is the turning point.

His mother and grandfather are visiting, only for a week, and that whole time he spends it with them, laughing and enjoying their company. For precious few moments he can pretend that he’s normal and doesn’t carry the entire weight of the galaxy on his shoulders. On the last day of their stay, his mother comes to have dinner with him after he’s done with a meeting with the admirals. He waves Mila and the rest of his escort away, not bothering with a security detail. They leave him be, although a bit reluctantly.

They enjoy dinner and his mother tells him the thoughts of the people, something Andreas has very carefully skirted around as he censors everything Yuri sees and reads.

“There are concerns,” She tells him, “That you aren’t fit to be Emperor.”

“Well, I could’ve told them that,” He says, morosely.

“Yes, well…you’re not very popular with the general public and there has been a lot of talks that maybe Prince Regent Andreas would make a better Emperor. On top of that, the military has abandoned many planets after stripping them of their natural resources and these planets are rallying behind the rebellion. Don’t you think—” She pauses for a few seconds and then continues, “—Don’t you think it would be best if you abdicated? And let Andreas fill in for you? Yura, it would solve so many problems and then you could come back home with dad and me.”

“I—I—I don’t know if I can even do that…”

“But Yura,” She says his name so softly, so lovingly, and repeats the words Yuuri had said so long ago, “ _You’re_ the Emperor.”

He knows. He _knows_ that. 

And when she digs a knife into his shoulder, not even five minutes later, as she cries and says _sorry, Yuri I’m so sorry,_ he can only agree with her. _Yes_ , he tells himself, as his mother is dragged away by Mila, _I_ am _the Emperor._

Days later, when her execution is scheduled, he makes sure to sit on his throne and look her in the eye as she’s forced on her knees before him on the platform below. Andreas is the one carrying out the execution and Yuri cannot help the burning hatred he feels for him. 

“Your Majesty,” Yuuri tells him, standing beside him, his eyes filled with worry, “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Shouldn’t I?” Yuri questions, his eyes narrowing, his eyes unwavering, “She’s _my_ mother.”

“I mean—you shouldn’t have to—“

“Watch?” He interrupts, “No, but I want to.”

Yuuri doesn’t say anything else and as his mother is shot behind the head, he makes sure to watch. He makes sure to burn the image into the back of his eyelids until it’s all he can see when he closes his eyes. 

That night, he empties his stomach into the bowl of the toilet and his tears dry up, until he feels nothing.

* * *

After his mother’s execution, Yuri knows that it’s only a matter of time before whoever is trying to kill him succeeds. He needs a plan. And he needs to be discreet about it, especially since the majority of the people that surround him have been placed there by Andreas.

Here’s what Yuri knows without anyone having to tell him. One, in the grand scheme of things he is nothing more than a pawn. Two, although he is protected and guarded now, he will not live past twenty years old. Three, he can choose his poison. 

Andreas is an old power-hungry bastard that wants the throne and yeah, Yuri understands. He’s a kid with an empty title and no power or influence over his imperial council. Taking the Empire from Yuri’s hands would be simple. Child's play. It's probably why Andreas had forced Emperor Dieter to name him his heir. He had no doubts that even before Yuri was born Andreas had already been planning to take over, he just needed an opening. And here Yuri was, the perfect piece of the game. 

But here’s what Yuri will not tell anyone: one, even though he’s a pawn, he’s still a piece on the board, and he will make sure to gain traction even if it’s the last thing he does. Two, his life will be short, but he won’t die without taking the entire Empire with him if he has to. Three, he would be the one to chose who would get the pleasure of killing him. 

So Yuri sits back and quietly plans what he needs to do. The absolute last thing he wants is to make hasty decisions that will lead him to an early grave. 

Andreas drops the files in front of him after the daily meeting he has with the Prime Minister. "Chose one," He commands, "Preferably by the end of the week."

Yuri doesn't reach for the file, instead, all he does is nod. The Regent looks at him for a long moment, waiting for him to open it but when it's clear he won't he gives Yuri a tight smile and nods, "Well, I must be on my way."

It's not until he's gone that Yuri reaches for it, pulling up the files on the hologram. It's  a list of candidates that he should consider for marriage and Yuri almost releases a hysterical laugh. It’s a long list, with the information and biometrics of different girls and boys in his age group, all of them being endorsed by some of the admirals and the ministers of the council but above all, people chosen by Andreas.

He shuts the file off, not bothering to look at it further, and flings it against the wall, the sphere splinters into pieces. 

Yuri has thought about this inevitability long and hard and he’s come to the conclusion that he does not want to be like Emperor Dieter. He doesn’t want to ruin anyone’s life like that bastard ruined his mother.  His mother had been twenty-three when she’d been brought to the harem at Emperor Dieter’s demand and he had been seventy-five at the time. It angered Yuri just thinking about it—she should have married someone she loved and lived a happy life—rather than be belittled by that man and used as an incubator. It still hurts thinking about her, he thinks he can understand what drove her to commit treason. He thinks that if he had been in her shoes—stuck between loving her child and detesting it—he might have done the same thing. Yuri was a product of Dieter’s sick perversions and he hated that about himself. 

Emperor Dieter had spawned twenty-nine children, only seven of them legitimate, with twenty-four different omegas, and the majority of his harem was made up of women he’d forcefully taken from their families just because he wanted them for himself. Yuri refused to be anything like him. 

And as the ancient saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. 

He sets his eyes on Imperial Fleet Admiral Viktor Nikiforov. Yuri has heard his name being spoken in hushed whispers by some of the soldiers, a man who had once been Andreas trusted ally. Yuuri is horrified when he tells him his intentions.

“But Yura—“ He says, dropping the ‘your Majesty’ for the first time in a year, “He’s—“

_Someone who wants me dead?_ Yuri doesn’t say out loud, ”Yeah, I know. Better him than anyone else, though.”

“But-but-“ Yuuri stammers. “There are so many other—other more suitable candidates.”

Yuri shrugs, “I’m not forcing anyone to marry me.”

Yuri trust Yuuri only partially, he’s a good friend and he’s been in his entourage for _years_ even before Yuri came to the palace. But at the end of the day…the magician is loyal to the prince and not the canary. Yuri has no qualms about this. He knows that Nikiforov hates the royal family and that Yuuri and he had been friends from childhood, he also knows that Lady Nikiforov had been part of Dieter's harem—this was probably the most important detail. Nikiforov has a good head on his shoulders, Yuri thinks, and if this Empire had to go to anyone after his death, it should be someone that actually deserved it. 

* * *

* * *

His little Majesty has a very peculiar personality, Viktor has been married to him for five months already and there are moments when he feels as though he’s dealing with two completely different people. There are moments when he looks at Viktor as though he was dirt on the bottom of his shoes and there are other times when he treats him with detached respect and cool civility. It’s actually quite irksome having to keep up with both of his personalities.

In the mornings, his Majesty is usually found in meetings that concern the people, the economy, the skirmishes between systems, and the general problems of an Empire. Then, in the afternoons, he meets with the admirals and military to discuss things of more delicate matters, such as the rebellion that seems to be slowly diminishing but still no less of a concern. His Highness's birthday had passed two months prior and since then he seemed to be more involved in political affairs thought  the majority of all the proposals and decrees were still signed by Prince Regent Andreas.

There is one thing Viktor has come to a concrete conclusion about and that is this: that his Majesty _hates_ Regent Andreas. Viktor sees this as something worth noting and filing away for future reference.

When Yuri had proposed to him, Viktor had seen it as an opportunity to kill the beast from the inside out, but Regent Andreas had made it very clear to Viktor that he shouldn't stick his nose in politics. "You're a man of war," He had said, "Do you think anyone would trust _you_? You have blood on your hands. It's better to know your place."

Viktor had barely managed to bite his tongue to keep quiet. The insipid reprobate thought that blackmail was good enough to tie his hands but Viktor could be patient.  If Andreas thought Viktor was someone to be easily deterred he would be most disappointed. He could sit back and look pretty, his only job being to keep his Majesty satisfied. His Majesty who is an Omega yet refused Viktor's help when his heats came. 

So Viktor uses this time to begin forming alliances under the table, with the people that will be key players when the time comes. Imperial High Fleet Admiral Yakov Feltsman is a tenacious man who had served under Emperor Dieter and was disillusioned serving an Empire that did not care about its people. Duchess Katsuki—Yuuri's mother— the Chief of the Council of the Inner Ring of the Empire was also in support of staging an intervention to secure a more stable Empire. Marques Giacometti who served in the Outer Ring and General Cialdini, Minister of Defense, and Lilia Baranovskaya, the current Prime Minister. There were many more too but just as there were supporters there was opposition and Viktor had to make sure that when the house of cards toppled over, he had to make it out unscathed.

* * *

Viktor finally finds out why his Majesty is so peculiar on an evening when there's a full-blown ball going on in the throne room, it turns out that Viktor had been right. He _had_ been dealing with two different people—Emperor Yuri and Suri, his double. 

He’s ashamed that it took him so long to figure it out, close to a year after their wedding. It’s humiliating. He supposes that it’s a good thing, but for him, who is supposed to be the Emperor’s consort, it’s just a punch to the gut he wasn’t prepared for. He prided himself on his skills of observation and yet, this one time—this one time where it was _crucial,_ he hadn't noticed. 

The Emperor always dons regal robes, usually long and elaborate, with large headpieces that distract the eyes and heavy makeup that characterizes the rulers of the von Lohengramm dynasty. The double who was the same height, weight, and had the same blond hair and green eyes as the Emperor was completely indistinguishable from him when she wore the robes and makeup. 

The only reason Viktor had finally realized it was because he’d accidentally walked in on them trading places. He’d been left reeling and the Emperor had rolled his eyes, “Bleh, now the funs all ruined.”

“Don’t be like that your Majesty,” Suri had said, and while he listened to both of them talking at the same time Viktor was able to pick up on the subtle differences of their voices, “It was about time Prince Viktor found out anyway.” She bows to Viktor, “I deeply apologize if at any time I ever offended you, Your Highness.”

Viktor shakes his head, still trying to digest the discovery, “No offense was ever taken.”

She smiles, grateful, and then she excuses herself. It’s fascinating, watching her lift her head high, the crown on her head heavy, and yet she carried it as if it was weightless and she walks out of the room, back to the dinner where the Emperor’s presence is required. Commander Otabek and Mila follow after her since right now she _is_ the Emperor.

Yuri—who now wears the uniform of a servant—flops down on the armchair of his office, blowing a raspberry. “This _sucks._ ” He mumbles, looking up at the ceiling.

“Why—why didn’t you ever tell me?” Viktor asks, though he already knows the answer.

“What for?” Yuri says, waving his hands in dismissal, “It was better not to tell you.”

“But your Majes—“

“Don’t call me that when I’m not wearing the get-up,” He snaps, “I'm not the Emperor right now.”

“I—I—what do I call you then?”

Yuri shrugs, “I don’t know, think of something.”

“Does Regent Andreas know?”

“Of course _not_. Do you think that asshole would let me prance around without supervision? And let me out of his sight? Tch, the only reason I had to get a double in the first place was because he’s been getting braver—did you know that he’s tried to assassinate me three times already?”

“What?” 

“Yep, three times.” He looks sad for a split second but when Viktor blinks the emotion is gone from his face, “He’s a _real_ fastidious bastard. Very persistent.”

Viktor feels a little off-balance, not only because of what he’s learned but also because Yuri is talking so openly with him, it’s the first time he’s ever seen him so relaxed. 

“So,” Viktor begins slowly, “What do you do? Once you’re no longer bound to the crown?”

Yuri shrugs and says, “Eat cake in the kitchens, sleep, sneak around the palace trying to see if the guards ever catch me. You’d think this place had good security, but in reality, anyone could walk in here and pretend to belong and bam! They belong. It’s all so stupid.”

Viktor laughs at this, “So you mostly do this to have some freedom?”

“Freedom and to not die. Depends on the situation.”

Much to Viktor’s surprise, despite all the grumbling and complaining, after he finds out about the double, Yuri is easier to get along with. To Viktor, this is great progress, being on Yuri's good graces is a good thing, it will make Andreas think twice about everything. Viktor knows Andreas had been particularly vexed when Emperor Yuri announced that he would marry Viktor, someone with no _real_ title, rather than someone he thought suitable. It had caused quite the uproar among the nobility and Andreas has to give them all answers to save face. It had been amusing if nothing else.

When Emperor Yuri and he are required to attend balls and dinners hand in hand Yuri will now hold on to Viktor’s arm when before they would just stand side by side. It actually becomes hard to keep a straight face because Yuri will mumble insults about everyone under his breath. 

“Can you _believe_ the Duchess of Othore? That dress with _that_ headpiece? She looks like someone plucked the feathers of a Confab and just stuck them on her hair.”

"Did you know Prime Minister Baranovskaya and Admiral Yakov are getting a divorce? _A_ _gain_?"

“Wow, look at that Rosings go. When he dances, since his nose is as long as his mustache, he looks like an anteater. Like the ones that used to exist on Earth.”

“Oh _look!_ It’s Andreas' new boy toy, I hear he used to be a stable boy back on his home planet but he went from bed to bed until he ended up Andreas’ ass. Commendable.”

“Yurochka,” Viktor murmurs, smiling politely as one of the servers hands him a flute of champagne, “Please stop.”

“ _Yurochka_?”

“Where I’m from, we give nicknames to those close to us.”

Yuri raises an eyebrow, “And we’re close?”

“Yes,” Viktor answers, as he squeezes Yuri’s hand.

“Mmm,” Yuri hums, staying quiet for a few seconds before saying, “ _By the heavens,_ what is that _thing_ on Duke Katsuki’s head? It’s positively _hideous._ ”

When Suri is in Yuri’s place, she also wraps her hand around Viktor’s arm but she’s quiet and usually much easier to go to dinner with. She doesn’t make comments about anyone's dress attire or gossip like a kitchen maid. Viktor has learned to differentiate them over time and now that he knows Yuri well—or at least _more_ than he used to—he realizes that they’re nothing alike. 

And though it’s easier to be with Suri in official events, he comes to realize that every time Suri is at his side rather than Yuri, he feels quite disappointed.

* * *

When Yuri is fifteen, he comes to Viktor at night for the first time. 

He stands in the middle of Viktor’s chambers, his hands fisted in his long nightshirt looking stubbornly at the floor. Viktor tries to steady his beating heart.

“I need your help,” Yuri says, “I haven’t—I haven’t been able to—to deal with it on my own anymore.” 

The _it_ being his heat. 

“I’ll help you,” Viktor says, and carefully doesn’t tell him, _That’s what I’m here for._ Instead what he asks is, “Have you done any simulations?”

Yuri shakes his head, “No simulations, just holos.” He flushes red. “No…practice either. Just…” He moves his fist up and down before cringing and promptly looking even more mortified. 

Viktor raises his eyebrows at this information. With the way technology has advanced one’s secondary gender posses no dilemma in the day-to-day life of anyone. There are scent blockers and suppressants that have no repercussions on anyone's body and even he, a designated Alpha, lives his life like a normal man, disposed of the inconveniences of a rut. Omegas had access to simulators that replicated the real experience and as long as they tracked their heats they lived fulfilling lives without the need of an Alpha. So why had Yuri not used them?  


He wants to ask, but he figures it’s a conversation for another day. But then he remembers, “I’m on blockers.”

“It’s fine, I just—just—anything is fine.” Yuri looks so helpless that Viktor can’t deny him. 

That night, he runs his hands along Yuri’s unblemished skin, he touches him everywhere he can, kisses and licks and sucks until Yuri’s digging his hands into his hair and coming down his throat. 

To the surprise of absolutely no one, least of all Viktor, his little Majesty likes sex. For months after that first night, Yuri comes to Viktor’s chambers almost daily (heat or no heat), and since their levels of stamina are clearly different, he has to get creative. Viktor has to satisfy him multiple times during the night because the kid is a hormonal teenager _and_ an Omega. After a time, he can’t be satiated with one measly blow job anymore. 

They spend a lot of time figuring out what Yuri likes and doesn’t like. He likes being blindfolded, he doesn’t mind being tied up, but he doesn’t like being blindfolded and tied up at the same time. He likes kissing—the kid is absolutely _weak_ to kisses—he turns into putty in his hands and Viktor loves to take advantage. There have been times when he’s cornered him in his office, just before they have a meeting with the admirals and Viktor kisses him and kisses him until Yuri’s face is flushed cherry red and looks as though he’s been drinking. If anyone notices the Emperor’s swollen lips and smeared lipstick during the meetings they make a point to make no comments about the matter. Especially since it's Victor's white uniform shirt that's stained with red. After the meetings, when everyone has left, Viktor bends his little Majesty over the desk and fucks him raw until Yuri’s coming and smothering his moans in one of the sleeves of his gold robes. 

They’ve been caught a few times by Yuri's entourage, though because of the length of Yuri’s royal garb all they had seen was them pressed against each other, moving at the same rhythm and Viktor waving at them to kindly fuck off because he won't let anyone else see him like that. Viktor isn’t in love with his Emperor but he is possessive of him—because Yuri is _his._ He belongs to Viktor, more than he belongs to anyone else and after a while, Viktor isn’t willing to give him up or let anyone else have him. The thought of sharing him, the thought that Yuri might one day have _concubines_ and _consorts_ that are not him makes something ugly knot itself in his stomach.

Yuri’s body is _made_ for _him._ He likes how it molds to him and his tight little ass is perfect for Viktor to bury his cock in. He likes to watch Yuri come apart above him as he rides him, his head thrown back, and his chest red. He likes how Yuri quivers and whimpers beneath him, how he moans and doesn’t hold his voice back. He likes how Yuri will push his ass back and arch his spine when he’s on all fours, his face buried in the pillows of Viktor’s bed. He likes to fuck him against the walls covered in gold, likes to watch him bounce up and down as he holds onto Viktor’s shoulders and his legs are wrapped around his waist. He likes—loves—to watch Yuri come apart just so he can put him back together again and do it all over. 

He’s not embarrassed to admit that his little Highness runs him ragged. Especially since he's on blockers and he can't match Yuri's enthusiasm. Anyone would be able to understand his predicament, especially since Yuri gives as much as he takes, though this is something that takes Viktor off guard. For a time, Viktor had thought himself a tool, almost. Here only for his little Majesty's satisfaction but Yuri wants to know the things Viktor likes, too. Wants to learn him and ruin him too.

So he teaches him because he has nothing to lose—at least that’s what he tells himself. 

On one occasion, after a long formal promotion ceremony, when the great hall has been vacated, Viktor is pushed back into the throne chair only the Emperor is ever supposed to sit in and Yuri drops to his knees and sucks him off and says, his mouth filled with Viktor’s length, “I’ll think of you every time I’m here.”  Then Yuri had climbed into his lap and as he bounced on Viktor’s cock, he’d moaned, “I’ll _feel_ you inside every time I sit here.”

That had made him come in record time. 

It’s no lie that the sex is great and it wouldn’t have been an issue if everything had stayed just like that. But without meaning to, Viktor comes to know him without really wanting to.

He’s aware of Yuri when he’s by his side, aware when Yuri _isn’t_ by his side. He can pick out Yuri’s location in the crowd just by the sound of his voice. He can tell when his little Highness is unhappy with something just by the look in his eyes. He can tell when Yuri is amused, when he’s upset, when he’s annoyed; he can tell between Yuri being angry because he's tired and Yuri being angry because he's hungry. He comes to file away all these little nonsensical tidbits of information that are absolutely useless and yet endearing at the same time. He can take one look at Suri, all made up and long robes flowing, and just _know_ that it's not _his_ Emperor. 

He begins to seriously wonder why Yuri—no matter how fucked out he is or how tired or how late it is—doesn’t ever spend the entire night with Viktor. Instead, Yuri will always go back to his chambers, his robe hastily pulled over his shoulders with Viktor’s cum dripping down his thighs and his legs unsteady and barely holding him up. 

He beings to wonder why Yuri never really lets himself smile and act like the rotten child Viktor knows he is. 

“Yura,” He says, one night as Yuri tries to catch his breath, “Is there anywhere you’d like to go for your birthday?”

Yuri doesn’t answer immediately, he blinks slowly, looking up at the ceiling with unfocused eyes. Then he says, “I don't.”

"Why not?"

"Andreas doesn't let me go off-world."

"That seems...unusual."

Yuri shrugs as if he didn't care either way, "I've gotten used to it."

Viktor chews on his bottom lip, “If I were to get you permission, would you like to visit Ileon with me then?”

Yuri says nothing and Viktor doesn’t push the subject. When Yuri leaves that night, Viktor contemplates the invitation he extended to his husband without really thinking about it. Ileon is a beautiful planet with breathtaking architecture and scenic waterfalls. It’s where Viktor had been born and where his family villa resided. Viktor hadn’t been there in _years_ so he doesn’t know why he’s suddenly extending an invitation to the Emperor that he claimed to want dead. 

Viktor doesn’t lay awake contemplating it.

* * *

Yuuri never approved of Viktor accepting the Emperor's marriage proposal, he said Viktor was only in it for the advantages he could have and not because he actually _wanted_ to. He'd come to Viktor, with a furious disposition that had never been directed at him before. "If you hurt him," He had begun, "I will _never_ forgive you. Do you understand me?" He gritted through his teeth, "I have helped you do awful things, and though I am ashamed of them I do not deny them. But if you hurt him—if you hurt him, Viktor I will do _everything_ in my power to have you executed."

It had taken Viktor aback, for Yuuri had never seemed more upset in his life, and he tried reassuring him, but Yuuri had shaken his head frantically, "I know you, you can't lie to me. I _know_ you and you're underestimating him, you blame him for sins he did not commit even though you know nothing of him. You think him a spoiled child with no thoughts of his own. Try as I might, I cannot stop this senseless union, but I will protect him. Even if that means going against you."

After that conversation, Yuuri and he had not been too well acquainted, though they did run in the same circle of Yuri's close companions. 

But as he learned more of Yuri, the conversation would always play in his head, and he came to understand that Yuuri had been right. 

When Andreas is off-world, Yuri will always trade places with Suri during state dinners and he goes off into the kitchens or the gardens dressed as a servant. More than once, Viktor had followed after him after excusing himself from the table and more than once they'd end up with Yuri pressed against the wall, kissing until neither could breathe anymore. 

Yet it was during the quiet moments were they would speak about the affairs of the Empire that he came to know the real Yuri von Lohengramm.

On one such occasion, they were in the gardens, and Yuri sat on the edge of the fountain as night fell. He seemed thoughtful and asked, "How much longer do you think the rebellion will last?"

"I should hope no longer than the coming year."

"Mmmm," Yuri hums.

"Why do you ask?"

He sighs, "It just seems to me that it's dragged on much longer than it should have. For a time, it seemed as though it really would grow into something big but it's practically disappeared now, so I wonder..." He pauses and then after a moment's hesitation continues, "...I wonder if maybe the way this Empire is set up is...wrong."

Viktor raises an eyebrow at this, "What do you mean?"

"I mean...I wonder if maybe the way the system is set up is inefficient. Currently, the Empire consists of twenty-five million planets, that number is projected to _decline_ in the coming centuries and it seems that there are many systems unhappy with the way things are currently done." He turns to look at Viktor, "There's no reason for poverty to exist in this day and age, with all the advancement in technology, there shouldn't be _one_ person starving. And yet this Empire is stagnant, slowly decaying."

"So what would you do?"

Yuri looks up thoughtfully at the night sky filled with stars, "I—I think, well, I think it would be better to create a Senate. Do things by majority vote and pour resources into helping individual systems get their food production stable and not have to depend on imports from systems half the galaxy away."

"But you'd be moving the Empire to a more democratic system."

The Emperor shrugs, "What's wrong with that? If it means the people will have better lives then why not?"

"There would be a lot of opposition from the nobility."

"There's going to be opposition no matter what happens. If I do nothing and the current system continues I think it will only be a matter of time before the people get tired of it. I know the formation of a senate cannot immediately solve the problem but it would be a step in the right direction. Nothing lasts forever, if at some point this Empire has to fall, it will. The Goldenbaum Dynasty ruled close to five hundred years before they fell, I see no reason to think that the Lohengramm Dynasty will last forever."

He stops and sighs deeply, "This war has dragged on long enough. It needs to end. I had a tutor, who once told me the wise words of some tactician that lived long ago, he said that it was the duty of those in power to create a legacy of peace and that it was the duty of those that came after to keep that legacy alive."

Viktor says nothing to this and only observes as Yuri dips his hand into the fountain. He looks tired, more tired than Viktor has seen anyone look and he comes to understand the meaning of Yuuri's words, _You underestimate him._

"I don't know how long I will live," Yuri says, his voice quiet, "I don't know if I'll even have a legacy to even speak of but I don't think those are reasons enough for me to stop trying to fix it." He gives Viktor a small, unguarded smile, and for the first time, Viktor sees him in a different light.

* * *

Viktor decides to lower the dosage of his blockers a month before Yuri's heat is supposed to hit. 

It does not go well.

He goes into a rut almost immediately after and he has to spend the entire day in his chambers, feeling like he's been reduced to nothing more than instincts and animalistic urges. It's nothing short of awful. When  Yuri comes to him that night and Viktor doesn't want to let him in. He's had a painful erection for the past hour and he feels that if Yuri was in the same room as him he would lose what little control he had.

But Yuri just rolls his eyes, "Don't be stupid. I'm here to help you."

"But why?"

"What do you mean _why_? You help me in my time of need, I help you in your time, that's generally what married people do."

Viktor doesn't have enough concentration to argue about this so he lets the door fall open and Yuri slips in, looking up at him expectantly, and Viktor swallows thickly.

"So," Yuri asks, "What would you like me to do?"

He thinks about it and there is only one thing he wants.  "Present yourself," He says, motioning to the bed.

Yuri raises his eyebrows and if Viktor was thinking straight he would realize what he'd just done. He'd just asked the Emperor—The Sovereign of All the Universe and all that bullshit—to present himself. Like a whore. The thing is—the thing is Yuri actually _does_ it. 

He strips himself out of his clothes and climbs into the best and _does it._ Viktor takes in the wonderful sight before him, his Emperor with his ass in the air and his entrance glistening. He's so wet, he's not even in heat, and he's so wet—for _him_ —for his Alpha. Viktor can smell it, now that his blockers aren't in the way, he can almost taste Yuri's delicious slick on his tongue.

Viktor feels like he has ants under his skin, like he has a monster wanting to tear out of his skin, and watching Yuri do as he asked, with no protest and no objection only makes him want to devour him. The Alpha inside him is filled with so much smugness that Viktor almost thinks they cannot possibly be _his_ feelings. But they are, and it's useless to deny it.

Today's not the day for caresses or for consideration, it's not the like other times when he's taken his time with him. No, today Viktor wants to fuck and fuck and fuck—and _claim—_ until he can't think of anything else. Yuri seems to understand this because when Viktor sinks into him and doesn't pull out even after Yuri's already come once he doesn't pull away. Doesn't back down. It makes Viktor both satisfied and angry.

_Fuck_ , Viktor thinks as he grips Yuri’s hips harder and pushes into him with less delicacy and more brutality. _This is kid has ruined all my plans._ Yuri very nearly screams as he comes again but the older man doesn’t stop and when Yuri begins to whine at the overstimulation, Victor pulls him back by the arm, until his back is hitting his chest and he wraps an arm around his body. He covers his mouth with his other hand and doesn’t relent in his harsh thrusts and the noises Yuri makes from the back of his throat only seem to spur him on.

_Fuck. Fuck._ He thinks, it was like even in death Emperor Dieter had won. He’d created the most beautiful, perfect being that would ultimately be Viktor’s downfall. Just by existing, this boy was making him do _stupid_ things, making him prioritize his happiness rather than all the carefully thought out plans he had laid out for over a decade. All Yuri had to do was smile, all he had to do was look up at him, whisper in his ear, and Victor would gladly fight battles just for the honor of warming his bed.

When the orgasm finally hits Viktor, he comes with a growl, low and rumbling in his throat and it makes Yuri tense before he’s coming again, dry and painful. The blond shudders and Viktor feels the tears on his hand. He lets him go and Yuri falls forward against the pillow practically boneless. But Viktor doesn’t pull out of him, not yet—just a little more he wants to be in that warmth just a little more, forever, if possible—instead he lays his body over the boy, kissing the back of his neck, nipping at the mark he placed there on the day they were married. 

Back then, in the small ceremony that followed their wedding reception, Viktor had done it because it was what had been expected of him. Not because he was swearing to always protect him and love him. But now, he bites down on it again, silently promising all the things a mating mark entailed. It was years late, but who cared? 

Yuri doesn’t protest, doesn’t even whine despite the fact that Viktor is sure he’s immensely uncomfortable. Viktor doesn’t know how long they lay there, with his soft cock buried in Yuri’s body, and the sound of their quiet breathing being the only thing that disrupts the silence. He holds Yuri's hand tightly, trying to find salvation.

Eventually, Yuri says, his voice like gravel, “You’ve been holding back.”

And Viktor almost wants to laugh that that’s his first thought and he murmurs against his ear, “I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“Didn’t you?” Yuri says, his voice quiet and unbelieving. 

_I didn’t want to hurt you like this,_ is what Viktor doesn’t say but he’s sure that Yuri hears it in the air. He lifts himself up and rolls away from him, reaching over to the nightstand to grab the cloth to clean Yuri up. When he’s done he falls against a colder side of the bed, waiting for Yuri to leave him, like he always does. But instead of standing up and walking back to his chambers, Yuri scoots himself closer, laying his head on his shoulder and tucking himself into Viktor’s side. Viktor almost doesn’t want to breathe for fear that it would make Yuri realize what he’s doing and scare him away. 

“I don’t think I can walk,” Yuri admits, finally, a tinge of embarrassment in his voice.

Viktor doesn't take his eyes away from the ceiling feeling both proud and satisfied, "If I were to apologize it would be insincere."

Yuri snorts, "Then don't apologize, dumbass."

They fall into a comfortable silence and Viktor focuses on the feeling of Yuri's skin against his own. He plays with the strands of his long hair and after a while, Yuri raises his head and leans up to kiss him. Viktor returns his slow, deliberate kiss without much energy but they savor it and when Yuri pulls away he looks at Viktor with amusement. 

"I was told something very interesting this morning."

Viktor shifts to look at him focusing his attention on his eyes.

"I was warned." Yuri continues, "By Andreas' boy toy."

"Stephen?"

"No, the new one...the one with the ugly teeth."

" _Oh_ , the one who likes to pretend he's his personal secretary! This will be interesting. What did he say?"

Yuri laughs and says, "He informed me that my husband has been paying too much attention to a servant as of late. He suggested I be more firm with you."

"Is that so?" Viktor asked, trying not to laugh. "I guess I'll have to be more careful then."

"That goes without saying," Yuri says, "I don't want to be the target of gossip."

"I would never willingly cheat on you, Your Majesty, that would be treason on my part," He wraps his hand around Yuri's thigh and pulls him on top of him, "But it's just that the servant boy tempts me too much. I cannot resist him at all. I am a weak man."

The blond snickers, reaching back to guide Viktor's rapidly hardening cock back where it belongs, "I really won't be able to walk tomorrow."

"I'll be sure to keep you entertained," Viktor groans as Yuri begins to move his hips in a slow, tantalizing manner. 

"But first," Yuri whimpers breathlessly, "Entertain me all night."

Viktor settles his hands on Yuri's naked hips to aid him and presses himself in deeper. And Viktor hopes that his rut and Yuri's heat sync up in the next few months because he's been dying to finally knot him.

* * *

The last and final assassination attempt comes three weeks after Yuri's seventeenth birthday.

Viktor is meeting with Admiral Yakov when he hears the loud explosion and mere seconds later feels the ground shaking under his feet as the windows blow out. Guards immediately surround them, informing them that there's been an attack on the palace grounds.

"Where is His Majesty?" Viktor asks, frantic.

"I'm sorry your Highness," One of them says, "I don't know."

"What do you mean _you_ _don't know_?" He shouts, "FIND OUT!"

"Your Highness," Admiral Yakov says, "I'm sure they are working on finding him as fast as they can."

They're led to a safer area and it's only then that they're given the news. The explosion had gone off in the Emperor's wing and Viktor feels his heart plummet in his chest. This cannot be happening. It can't. There's a lot going on, guards shouting and running from one place to another, trying to contain the fire and save the survivors at the same time. As more and more time passes the more and more Viktor feels faint. Yuri still hasn't been found even five hours later. 

He's resisting the urge to empty his stomach into the carpet when the Emperor is finally found.

"I wasn't in my quarters," The Emperor says, "I was quite lucky."

But Viktor only feels all strength leave him because the Emperor that's standing before them is not _his_ Yuri. He has to force himself to seem relieved, to pretend that he's glad for his safety, and when they're evacuated to a private estate he has to hold the Emperor's hand as they walk up the stairs. When it's only the two of them alone, Viktor lets go of Suri's hand and falls into a chair and through a choke asks, "Where is he?"

Suri looks down, her own eyes welling up in tears, "I don't know, I'm so sorry, I don't know. I wasn't anywhere near his chambers when it happened. Commander Otabek and Mila were the ones who came to me and brought me the clothes."

"And where is Otabek now?" 

"He's the one who will be running the investigation, he's at the still palace."

Viktor has no more to say, it's all just too much to bear, so he excuses himself and finds a room where he can break down without any witnesses. When all his tears have run out, all he can be is enraged. He would kill Andreas even if it was the last thing he ever did.

* * *

Three long months go by without Yuri.

Viktor refuses to believe he's dead, a body hadn't been recovered so in his head, Yuri is somewhere safe, somewhere far away from here, finally free of the duties that were imposed on him. Suri has been doing a great job of keeping the charade up but Andreas will sooner or later begin to get suspicious.

Viktor has not slept well, has not eaten well, has not even managed to sit still for a moment, and not think about Yuri. Many people have noticed and he’s had to reassure them over and over that it’s nothing. What else could he possibly say?

To the knowledge of everyone else, the Emperor is in good health and there isn’t any reason to be distressed. The investigation about the explosion has reached a dead end, though Commander Otabek has not relented in his search. High Admiral Yakov and Prime Minister Baranovskaya think this is a good time as any to proceed with their plans and stage a coup against Andreas and though Viktor agrees his full focus isn’t in it. Still, the plans are set into motion and with only a week left until the official proclamation, Yuuri comes to see him.

After the initial pleasantries are over with, he moves from one side of the room to another in a nervous tick that makes Viktor apprehensive.

Yuuri observes, “You’ve lost a lot of weight, Your Highness.”

Whatever it was Viktor was expecting, it certainly wasn’t that, and he just looks down at himself, as if he was just noticing, “Yes, I have.”

Yuuri clears his throat, “There’s—to be honest, I—well, I’ve noticed, that over the course of the past years, you and the Emperor have become quite close.”

Viktor cannot stop his eyebrows from quirking, but nods, “He is my husband.”

The dark-haired man stares at him with a pensive look on his face, he blinks and then says, “Viktor,” And the use of his name, without any honorifics, makes Viktor look up at him in attention, “I—I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“I think...I was quite unfair in my opposition to your marriage.”

“I don’t think your concern was misplaced.” Viktor answers and then adds, “At the time.”

“I suppose you’re right. But as things are currently I feel I should also apologize again.”

This makes Viktor pause, not quite understanding where Yuuri is coming from.

Yuuri takes a deep sigh, “You see...I made a suggestion to someone and I thought that it was well-intended but I see now that I have caused both of you misery.”

“What do you mean?”

“The day of the explosion—I was—I was in the rose gardens. I was cleanly knocked out of my feet and for a long time, I couldn’t even right myself because of the insistent ringing in my ears. But someone—someone helped me up after a while, and when my gaze focused, His Majesty was the one who stood before me.”

Viktor stands from his chair, his eyes wide, “You saw him?”

“I—he helped me get to an infirmary and afterward he—he just begged me to get him out of here.” Yuuri blinks and his eyes filled with tears, “At the time, I didn’t know why he was so anxious but he said he just couldn’t stay here...So I helped him. I used my mother’s private transport and since it’s a government ship, we didn’t have to go through the port. He told me where to take him and then he asked me if I thought it was a good idea to inform you.” He takes a deep breath, and finally admits, “But I told him he shouldn’t.”

Viktor would like to be angry, he thinks, later on, he will be, but at this moment all he can feel is an immense relief.

“He’s alive then?” He asks because he has to hear it confirmed out loud.

Yuuri nods, “Yes, he’s—he’s very well physically, actually. But he’s been quite miserable otherwise. I think he—“

“Where is he?” Viktor cuts and immediately demands, “Take me to him.”

“Well—“

“Yuuri,” Viktor says, placing his hands on Yuuri’s shoulders and looking at him directly, “Take. Me. To. Him.”

Yuuri swallows thickly and then nods, “Tomorrow—“

“Today.”

“But—“

“Right now.”

Yuuri purses his lips and then says, “You are still as demanding as ever. And you still won’t listen to reason.” His voice is reprimanding but he looks slightly amused.

Viktor doesn’t care that his character is being insulted because all he feels coursing through his veins is happiness. It’s Yuuri that sits down and thinks up of an excuse for the Royal Consort to leave the palace without the Emperor and not even four hours later, Viktor finds himself bound to the last place he thought Yuri would be.

When the ship breaks the atmosphere of Ileon, Viktor looks down at his home planet with a little nostalgia but it doesn’t last long. When the large Nikiforov villa comes in to view, his heart beats like a wild drum in his chest. His breath almost seems to stop when he’s in front of the large doors.

He’s in the foyer when a servant comes to greet him, “Hello, it’s been a long time since we last saw you, Mister—“ She flushes, “I mean—Prince Viktor.”

He shakes his head, “Call me as you always have.”

“Right,” She begins, “I take it you’re here to see the...” she trails off and Viktor suddenly finds himself a little amused, he wonders what Yuuri told his household about Yuri, “...visitor we’ve been accommodating for the past few months.” She says this plainly and without judgment but Viktor can conclude that the household has made its own inferences about who Yuri is. 

He nods, “Yes, take me to him.”

“Well,” She begins, clearing her throat, “He’s actually asleep right now.”

“I’ll still see him anyway. The guest suite?”

She looks at him for a beat too long and then shakes her head, “No. Your room.”

Viktor nods without waiting for her to say anything else. He climbs the stairs two at a time and practically sprints the rest of the way. It’s been a long time since he was last here, but he remembers every nook and cranny perfectly, and when he turns the hallway coming face to face with his bedroom door, he takes a moment to stop and try to catch his breath.

When he’s managed to get some semblance of control he reaches for the doorknob and notices that his hand is shaking. He rests his hand on the knob for a few seconds, closes his eyes, and takes a steadying breath. He turns it and pushes the door quietly open.

The windows of the room have been shut off and it’s dark and cool inside. The only light comes from a lap in the corner of the room and there, on Viktor’s childhood bed, facing away from him is his beloved Yuri.

Viktor feels both his heart and his throat constrict at the same time when he finally sets his eyes on his husband. He runs his eyes from the back of his head to his shoulders to his back to his legs and to his feet. Viktor feels like his legs are going to give out under him. Yuri is alive. He’s alive and he’s okay. For the first time in months, despite his burning chest, Viktor feels weightless. He steps closer and he stills when he sees Yuri shift on the bed.

A moment goes by and Yuri’s even breaths stop and he inhales tiredly and Viktor notices acutely when his whole body tenses. He steps closer and calls out, “ _Yurochka_.”

Even without seeing his face, Viktor knows that Yuri’s eyes are blown wide and as Viktor steps closer to the bed Yuri sits up slowly, the thin robe he’s wearing slipping off his shoulder. When Viktor is standing at the edge of the bed, Yuri turns his whole body towards him and there are tears running down his face.

“Vitya,” He whispers, barely audible, and Viktor moves so quickly to gather him up in his arms that he almost trips on his own feet.

“Yurochka,” He breathes into his hair, “My Yurochka I have missed you so much.”

Yuri hugs him tightly, as he settles on Viktor's lap and wraps his arms around his neck, and presses his face to Viktor’s shoulder. His small body trembles and Viktor returns his tight hug, pressing their bodies impossibly close, delighting in the warmth he emits. 

After a moment, he pulls Yuri away from himself, to look at him. He cradles his face in his hands and rests his forehead against his, “I have missed you,” He repeats again before kissing him. And it’s as he’s kissing him, savoring the sweetest flavor he feared he would never taste again, and as he runs his hands down the length of Yuri’s back that he finally becomes aware of it. Viktor is intimately knowledgeable of Yuri’s body, he has worshiped it too many times to not know it perfectly, to not notice it’s immediate differences.

Viktor pulls away, looking down between them, and he croaks, “You’re—“

Yuri nods, his own voice coming out rough, “Yeah.”

“But how—“

He presses a hand to his navel. The bump on Yuri’s stomach is small, barely beginning to show, but to Viktor, it feels like the concrete manifestation of his love. Yes, _his love_. He cannot stop the tears from slipping out of his eyes. “Yurochka,” He says again trying to find words but they all seem to fail him. “Yurochka. It's _wonderful_.”

Yuri's bottom lip trembles, "You're not mad?"

"No! Why would I be?"

"Because—because this wasn't supposed to happen," He explains, his voice cracking, "This wasn't par—"

Viktor understands. This wasn't part of anyone's plans. Not Andreas', not Yuri's, and certainly not his but it's didn't matter.

"It doesn't matter," Victor tells him, cradling his cheeks in his hands.

Yuri wipes away the tears from his cheeks and kisses him again, fiercely, as if afraid he would let him go; but Viktor won’t leave him. Not today, not tomorrow, not even when the last start of this universe burned out.

* * *

Hours later, when they have managed to both settle the wild beatings of their hearts they lay together in bed, curled up close with their little bump nestled between them. Yuri is only in a thin robe and Viktor had disposed of his clothes because Yuri wanted to be comforted by his scent. They had done nothing but lay together, relishing in the feel of their skins pressed against each other.

“Where were you when the bomb went off?” Viktor asks, as he traces patterns into Yuri’s back.

The younger sighs, “I was in a guest room, on your side of the palace.”

“Why?”

“I have not slept in the Emperor’s quarters since...since my mother tried to kill me.”

Viktor swallows thickly, wanting to pull him closer but knowing that there’s already no space between them.

Yuri continues, “I had just found out about this,” He motions down to his stomach, “And I wasn’t—I didn’t know what to think. I—I didn’t think this was even a possibility. I mean—I knew it could happen but I’d been so careful and used contraceptives. I was losing my mind and then the bomb went off and I was scared shitless. The only thing going through my head was that if Andreas found out he'd take them away from me." He swallows thickly, and Viktor can smell his distress in the air, "I couldn't—I _wouldn't_ risk it, and when Yuuri agreed to help me all I could think about was getting as far away from there as possible."

"Why didn't you send for me sooner?"

He shakes his head, "I wanted to, but I was still too scared. All my life, I have been nothing but a pawn for people to use and though I didn't care for myself when it came to _my_ child I couldn't bear the thought that they would be treated the same too."

Viktor remains silent, for there is nothing he can say to answer or reassure him. 

"When I...requested that you to marry me, I was aware that you...weren't very fond of me. And I knew that your mother had, at one point, been part of Dieter's harem. I knew you were ambitious and  you seemed a _much_ better candidate for Regency than Andreas. Even though you hated me and wished me dead, I knew it had to be you." Yuri burrows his face into the crook of Viktor's neck and confesses, "I never spent the night with you because I was scared you would kill me in my sleep. I never used the simulations because I was scared Andreas would kill me when I was in a haze. I have always been scared that just _one_ slip up would end up with me dead."

Viktor blinks rapidly, his heart in his throat and he places a kiss on Yuri's forehead. "You don't have to be scared anymore."

"I know, but I wanted to tell you. I don't want there to be any secrets between us anymore."

"No secrets," Viktor repeats, and then says, "I love you."

For a long moment Yuri says nothing, does nothing, but then he nods his head, "No secrets. I love you."

* * *

* * *

"Katsudon," Yuri begins, overlooking the garden, "There's something I've been meaning to ask you."

"What is it?" His longtime friend and confidant asks as he struggles with a jar of jam.

"Do you remember that story you told me when I was younger? The one about the prince and the magician and the canary?"

Yuuri pauses in his struggle and looks at Yuri in surprise, "Umm, yes. I remember."

"Do you want to know how it ends?"

Yuuri looks quite confused and Yuri can't help but smile.

"Your Royal Majesty," Viktor interrupts, as he comes in through the door, he gives Yuri a deep bow, "I have returned from my long journey back into your arms."

Yuri snorts, "You've been gone less than a day."

"Still too long." His husband answers, leaning down to kiss him.

"Katsudon," Yuri says, his eyes not leaving Viktor's blue ones, "It turns out, that after the canary ate the orchid he turned into a beautiful boy," He sees the confusion on Viktor's face, "And the prince abandoned his hate," Yuri reached for Viktor's hand intertwining their fingers, "For he had never known love like this before."

* * *

**After Regent Andreas is taken off the throne, Emperor Yuri von Lohengramm rules the New Galactic Empire for ninety years with the help of his Royal Consort. They establish the Galactic Senate which marked the beginning of a new prosperous and affluent era. During his reign, technology advanced to greater heights, going far beyond the wildest human imagination, and poverty was finally abolished in every corner of the galaxy. In the hearts of the people, the name Yuri von Lohengramm is synonymous with greatness and remains revered even thousands of years after his death.**

**Prince Viktor Nikiforov dies at the age of one hundred seventeen and is buried in the planet of Valhalla, where all royals are buried. Two months later, his beloved Emperor exhales his last breath surrounded by his children and grandchildren. He is laid to rest in the arms of his husband where they are to remain together until the last star of this universe dies.**

* * *


	2. infinity (reflected in your eyes)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri spends three long, lonely months in Ileon walking along the empty hallways and abandoned rooms of the Nikiforov villa. In between, he reminisces the beginning of his relationship with his husband and wonders if happiness is something he can have or if it's impossible for someone like him.

* * *

**The year is two hundred fourteen of the New Imperial Calendar, the fifth year of the reign of Emperor Yuri von Lohengramm, the first of his name. The palace and the entire galaxy have been shaken down to the core after the terrorist attempt against the Emperor’s life. Regent Andreas tries to take control of the royal council but Prince Viktor, Dutchess Katsuki, Imperial High Fleet Admiral Feltsman, and Prime Minister Lilia Baranovskaya hold him off from assuming total control as he is their prime suspect in the attempt.**

**Only those is close confidence know that the acting Emperor is actually Suri, the Emperor’s double and friend, but time is running out, and Andreas is gathering his own support within the palace and military to finally rule Emperor Yuri an incompetent ruler. The galaxy is once again in the brink of a civil war.**

**And the real Emperor Yuri is nowhere to be found.**

* * *

They arrive at the villa as the sun sets over the horizon and the waters of the ocean turn from blue to a deep, despairing black. The servants all stare as Yuuri comes up with an excuse for Yuri’s presence.

“I am sure you have seen the news,” Yuuri tells them, his face set into a severe frown, “I don’t have time to sit down and discuss with you the gravity of the situation. Prince Viktor has sent me here to leave Suri with you, for he is a great friend of his and this is the place where he will be the safest. He wishes you to serve Suri as if you were serving him.” Yuuri pauses, clears his throat and then continues lying straight through his teeth, “I know you might want to contact him, since he’s been gone for such a long time, but right now, Prince Viktor is under great duress and he needs you to help him with Suri more than anything else. I can take any messages you might have for him and answer any questions. If you need to contact him, you can call me and I will relay your message to him.” 

Yuri would be amazed at how easily Yuuri seems to manipulate the situation if he didn’t already know that Yuuri was a great diplomat, just like his mother. The servants don’t look too convinced at first, but the Housekeeper steps forward, sparing Yuri nothing but a side-eyed glance before nodding her agreement, “We will do as you say, Vice Admiral Katsuki. You don’t have to worry, we will keep Prince Viktor’s guest safe and cared for.”

Yuuri’s face lights up in relief, “Thank you, Natasha, I knew I could count on you.”

The old housekeeper nods, her face betraying nothing, “Will you be staying for dinner?”

“No,” Yuuri answers, “I have to return immediately, you must understand.”

“Of course,” Natasha says, she turns to Yuri, and then back to Yuuri, “I will prepare the guest room for him, forgive me if I cannot see you off,” She motions for Yuri to follow, “Right this way, sir.”

Yuri hesitates, he has never been called sir in his _life_ and for a moment he doesn’t know if she’s talking to him or not, but Yuuri smiles at him in encouragement and reassures him, “You’ll be safe. I will call you as soon as things settle.”

The blond nods, unable to say anything without feeling like his voice would break. He mouthes, “Goodbye,” before following after the housekeeper.

“The rest of you,” Natasha snaps, as she begins to climb the stairs to the second floor, “Get back to work and make dinner for the Prince’s guest.”

The servants all scramble at her orders and Yuuri gives him one last wave before he walks out. Yuri almost wants to follow after him, suddenly regretting ever asking him to bring him here. How could Yuri be so stupid? Asking to be brought _here_? To the den of the lion? 

But it’s too late for regrets now.

The walk to the guest room is quiet, both the housekeeper and his steps resounding in the empty hallways. He is too distracted by the events that had happened earlier that day to pay any attention to where he was going or notice his surroundings. All he can think to do is put one foot in front of the other, and try not to break down in panicked gasps as he had with Yuuri in the transport. 

“Here you are,” Natasha announces, opening the door and motioning for him to enter.

“Th-thank you,” Yuri answers, walking into the room he’d stay in for the following weeks to come. 

As he looks around, he can feel the housekeeper sizing him up, and he turns to her to stare right back, if being Emperor had taught him one thing, it's to never be intimidated, even if all he wanted to do was cower. She seems to be searching for something in him, an answer as to who he might be but she comes up empty and eventually just sighs, “Dinner will be ready soon. I will bring it to you, I’m sure you are very tired.”

She leaves after showing him where everything is and when she’s gone, Yuri falls on the bed, exhaustion finally weighing him down. He wants to shower, but he doesn’t know if he even has the energy to do that. He somehow musters up the strength to remove his clothes and tries to close his eyes to rest a bit. He’s not entirely sure how much time passes, but eventually, Natasha brings him dinner and he eats it slowly because every single one of his movements makes him feel like he has one hundred pound weights attached to his body. When he’s done, she takes the plates back and leaves him alone once again.

He tries to fall asleep, but he keeps on tossing and turning in bed and it evades him. And even days after his arrival, he cannot seem to find any rest at all. Insomnia has taken a grip so hard on him that Natasha starts to look concerned rather than malcontent, “Should I call a doctor for you?”

He shakes his head slowly, “I’m sure it’ll pass.”

But it doesn’t pass, instead, he just begins to look worse, the bags under his eyes darken to purple, and his skin turns paler and paler. The stress he’s under is weighing him down to the point that he can’t even get out of bed. Five years of being under constant alert have left him exhausted and the pressure was finally cracking him. 

Yuri didn't do much of anything all those days. Natasha came by every three hours to inquire if he needed anything but he mostly only asked her to bring him food or a change of clothes but other than that he remained alone with his thoughts and anxieties piling up. 

He had tried to keep up with the news of what was going on at the palace since every holo channel reported on it daily, but it only fed into his anxiety more and he had stopped looking at them for the sake of not having a breakdown. The Emperor was safe, he and Prince Viktor were both currently staying at a private manor that would remain undisclosed to the public for safety purposes. Andreas, more than once, had made hypocritical statements about finding the person responsible for the treason committed against His Majesty as if Yuri didn’t know that it was him that caused it. The Emperor hadn’t made any public statements as of yet, and neither had Prince Viktor because according to the reporters, both of them were still distraught.

“I will call a doctor,” Natasha says, finally, ten days after Yuri has arrived, her tone leaving no room for argument. 

The doctor that comes checks him over thoroughly, and when he’s done, with a worried frown tells Yuri, “It’s not good for the baby that you’re not sleeping.”

Yuri stares at him for a beat too long.

The doctor quirks his brow and smiles in wry amusement, “I’m sorry, was that supposed to be a secret? Your scent is changing already.”

“It’s not a secret,” Yuri mumbles, shifting his gaze away, “Just…still very new to me to have it said out loud.”

“Mmm,” The doctor hums, “Well, I can give you medicine to help you fall asleep but I think your insomnia stems from stress more than anything.”

“What will you give me?” 

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about it affecting you in any way, this is a natural remedy.”

He gives Yuri a tea made out of a flower native to Ileon and while it helps Yuri relax, he still can’t fall fully asleep. Instead, it’s a half-awake, half-unconscious state that Yuri is all too familiar with. But it’s fine, because his skin doesn’t look as transparent as it had, and faint color returns to his cheeks. 

It gives Yuri enough strength to begin wandering the halls of the villa when he’s bored, and it’s on one of those occasions when he hears the servants arguing with Natasha.

“We’re going to be _killed_ ,” One of the younger maids is telling her, Nora if Yuri remembers correctly, “If anyone were to find out we’re hiding Prince Viktor’s mistress _here._ I can’t believe the nerve of him!” The rest of the servants seem to be in agreement, “I know he’s keeping us in the dark but the Emperor won’t care what we tell him! We shouldn’t involve ourselves in this! We should just throw the little whore on the street and let him figure it out!”

“What your mouth,” Natasha snaps viciously. “I don’t care what you think about Prince Viktor but you _will_ respect him and his guest. If you don’t want to be involved then you are more than welcomed to leave but remember that you swore an oath to this household. That goes for the rest of you too.” A deafening silence reigns for a long moment, and then Natasha continues, “Now if this was all you had to say, go back to work, except you Nora.” 

Yuri slowly steps away, careful to not make any noise, and makes his way back to the guest room. It’s a bit amusing, if nothing else, that they think he’s Viktor’s mistress. Well, who else would they think he is? The Emperor is in the palace and Yuri is no one without the crown. But it worries him because what if they contacted Viktor without talking to Yuuri first? And what if word that he was here reached the palace? Or worse Andreas? 

He doesn’t know why he thought coming here was ever a good idea. 

* * *

Yuri fiddles nervously with the gems on his robes, picking at them and trying to see if they’ll come off if he pulls hard enough. They don’t, but he keeps trying anyway, just to keep himself distracted from the fact that he’s _married._ His husband stands beside him, accepting the good wishes of the generals, dukes, and every other person that wants to kiss Andreas’s ass. Yuri pretends to listen but he can barely hear anything over the pounding of his heart. 

It’s not that he regrets his decision but the thought that in a few more hours he’s going to be bound to this man he barely met today makes his insides churn. He wishes he could trade places with Suri but this is something she cannot do. It has to be him. 

The entire wedding ceremony had gone off without a hitch and the few hiccups that had arisen had been solved by the staff and the servants swiftly because no one wanted to anger Andreas further. He was already in a permanent piss poor mood as it was. Ever since Yuri had told him—and the entire galaxy—he had proposed to Viktor he’d been frothing at the mouth but he wasn’t one to let other people see his anger and true nature. No, instead Andreas had smiled and through gritted teeth had given an entire address to the council about why Viktor would be a great addition to the royal family. He’d gone on and on about loyalty and honor and all the bullshit he could find to disguise the fact that he was absolutely furious that Yuri hadn’t chosen one of the candidates he had recommended. 

And the proposal could not be withdrawn, because Yuri had made it _very_ public. Public enough that if Viktor had refused he would have been _humiliated_ but he’d taken the chance because it was the only way to make sure Andreas didn’t stop him. 

Yuri had sent a private letter to the Fleet Admiral first, asking him for his hand and explaining the things that would be required of him. Viktor had answered with an affirmative and in the next meeting with the council, while the entire galaxy was watching, Yuri had asked for everyone’s attention—something he rarely ever did—and announced that he was marrying Fleet Admiral Viktor Nikiforov in two weeks time. 

Seeing the blood drain from Andreas’s face had been one of the most pleasing things he had ever experienced. From there, the palace had been lit up in gossip and everyone wondered why Yuri had chosen Viktor—the man responsible for the deaths of his half-siblings—to be his consort. 

Yuri didn’t expect then to understand, he didn’t expect anyone to understand. The planning of the ceremony begun quickly and true to his world, two weeks after the announcement, he was now married. 

The ceremony had been broadcasted live all over the Empire and the reception was teeming with people. Nobility from almost every single system was present and though weddings were supposed to be joyous occasions Yuri only felt dread. 

“Your Majesty,” Yuuri greets, bowing as he comes to stand by his side, he doesn’t even glance at Viktor, “You called for me?”

“I did,” Yuri answers, turning carefully to him, “I need a moment.” 

Viktor turns to him in surprise, “Would you like—“

“Don’t worry,” Yuri cuts before he can continue with his question, “I just need some fresh air. Stay here,” He looks around the great hall seeing everyone chattering and dancing, “I’ll be right back.”

Yuuri leads him to his office, where it’s quiet and as soon as the door shuts behind them Yuri falls on his chair. He wants to rub his forehead but he knows that would only smear his makeup and the last thing he wants is to have to reapply it. Yuuri moves around him, opening the doors to the balcony to let in the cool air of the night. 

“Are you alright?” Yuuri asks.

He nods, “I’m just…tired.” 

“Would you like something to drink?”

No, Yuri would not, he feels like he’s going to puke.

He shakes his head and closes his eyes, leaning back to rest his head against the backrest of the chair. There’s something he’s been wondering about for a while now, but he has never known how to address the subject. 

“Katsudon,” He begins, his eyes still unopened, “Are you happy?”

He hears his companion pause, “Am…I happy…?”

“Mmm,” Yuri hums, because he will never be able to ask the real question, _I_ _s the magician still in love with the prince?_

Yuuri doesn’t immediately answer, but when he does, for some odd reason, Yuri feels a lot better about everything, “Well, if you’re asking if I’m happy right now…then the answer would be…not entirely. I’m still a bit…reluctant to accept that you’ve married someone you don’t love. But in general, I think I’m quite a happy person. Sometimes I have bad days, of course, everyone does but my work and family make it better, my daughter's in particular. But that's only because they distract me with tea parties.” 

“So family…” Yuri repeats to himself. _Something I'll never have._

“Are you…regretting your decision?”

“No,” He tells him, shaking his head, “No, it had to happen. I had to marry.”

“But you didn’t have to marry him.”

“It had to be him,” Yuri says, finally lifting his head and opening his eyes, the ornaments on his headpiece tinkling, “But that’s not really what I was trying to get at. I just wanted to know if you’re…happy.” 

Yuuri looks at him strangely, as if he wasn’t really understanding where Yuri was coming from. The blond shakes his head, “Never mind, it’s not important anymore. We should head back.”

Yuri stays at the reception for two more hours, mostly because he’s avoiding the next ceremony. But he can only avoid it for so long.

Tradition dictated many of the things that happen in Yuri’s life and this is just one more in the grand scheme of things but it didn’t make it any easier. He goes back to his room to change out of his wedding attire and into the sheer robe that had been laid out for him by the servants. His hands tremble when he pulls it on and when he wipes his makeup off the shaking only seems to get worse. He clenches his fists, hating himself for not being as composed as he should be, for caring so much about this. 

It’s just one more thing…one more thing that he has to get over and done with and then he can move on with his life. He sits on the bed—the large bed that he hadn’t slept in for months now—and waits. 

He tries to not look anxiously at the time and focuses on trying to calm himself down. 

Since his coronation, this would be the first time anyone besides his closest confidants will see him so vulnerable. No makeup to protect him from recognition, no mask to hide behind, and no clothes to protect him from knives or bullets. If Viktor wanted to kill him—tonight would be the best chance he’d ever get but he wondered if Viktor was stupid enough to try it. It wouldn’t do the Fleet Admiral well, because he wouldn’t make it out of the palace alive, but if he was as dead set on revenge as everyone told Yuri, then maybe he’d take the chance. 

Viktor doesn’t take the chance.

When Yuri lets him into the Emperor's chambers, he very carefully makes sure his eyes don't stray, looking at Yuri in the eyes and nowhere else. 

Yuri swallows thickly, and instructs, “Just the mark.”

Viktor nods, he takes Yuri’s hand in his, and rather than pull out a knife or a blaster, he pulls Yuri close and lays his hand on the small of Yuri’s back.

His husband does as he asks. Just the mark and nothing else. No kisses, no caresses, or promises or useless commentary, nothing but Viktor’s teeth sinking down on his scent glands and the pain that follows. 

He squeezes his eyes shut tight because it _hurts_ like a bitch and it continues to hurt, even after Viktor has left.

* * *

Yuuri visits him about a month after he's come to the villa. He hadn’t been able to get away because of the situation at the palace but he takes the risk to see Yuri. He comes in the early morning and they have breakfast together. They talk about the health of Yuuri’s parents, about the weather, and the food that they are served. They don’t talk about the palace, or Viktor, or any of the things Yuri really wants to know because the servants are there attending them. 

But after breakfast, they walk around the rose garden, and that’s when Yuuri begins to tell him of everything that’s been really happening. “Commander Otabek is looking into the attempt but the evidence is leading nowhere.” Of course they wouldn't find anything, Andreas was meticulous, he wouldn’t do something of that magnitude without making sure all traces of his involvement were completely erased, “Suri has been avoiding meeting with Prince Andreas privately and Mila is always with her. We’re not risking anyone finding out about her, not until you’re ready to come back.” He says this last part almost hesitantly as if waiting for Yuri to say that he _won’t_ go back. 

Yuri says nothing, however. Doesn’t agree or disagree and instead just walks along the path quietly. Yuuri continues updating him about everything, the unrest the army and navy are feeling, the arguments that are unfolding about finding land to build a new palace, or if the capital should be moved entirely, about how the rings are handling the situation, and how Prime Minister Lilia has taken control of the royal council despite Andreas arguing otherwise. “Everyone is feeling very tense right now,” Yuuri says as he continues talking. He talks and talks and talks about everyone except the one person Yuri wants to hear about. He knows Yuuri does this very deliberately. 

“And Viktor?” He interrupts eventually when he’s done preventing to care about everything else. 

Yuuri opens his mouth, then thinks better of whatever it is he’s going to say and closes it. His lips fall into a displeased line and simply says, “He’s doing fine.”

“When do you think…I should see him?” 

Yuuri shifts his gaze, looking troubled, “Your Majesty, I don’t think it would be a good idea to see him at all.”

This was the answer Yuri was expecting, but he still feels a pang of misery shoot through his heart. “Why not?” He asks as if he hadn’t already heard the answer multiple times before. 

“Because,” Yuuri begins patiently, “I don’t think it’s in your best interest to trust him. He killed your siblings, Yura. For Andreas.”

Yuri bites the inside of his cheek, his eyes filling up with stubborn tears, and he shifts in agitation from one foot to the other, and then blurts, “I’m pregnant.”

Yuuri’s mouth falls open in surprise and absolute shock. He gapes and Yuri would find it amusing any other time but it only makes him feel more unease. He takes a seat on one of the stone benches in the garden. 

The dark-haired man seems to still be trying to process what Yuri had told him.

“Since—how? Viktor’s?” Yuuri manages to stutter out.

“Yes, who else?” Yuri answers, looking at him desperately, “I’m—It was only ever Viktor. For me.” He swallows thickly and then through a sob admits miserably admits, “I miss him.”

“Oh, _Yura._ ” Yuuri gasps with sympathy, and Yuri almost hates him for it but Yuuri wisely doesn’t say anything more and instead comes to hug him. Yuri wants to simultaneously recoil from him and at the same time sink into the comfort he’s offering but he can’t do either of those things and only remains frozen as his tears drip down his face. 

They remain that way for a long time until Yuuri eventually asks, “How long has it been?”

“Since February but I only found out a few days before the attack.” 

“Is that why you were so desperate to leave?”

He nods against Yuuri’s shoulder.

“Have you seen a doctor?”

He nods again and hesitantly mumbles, “Do you think it’s impossible for me to see him?”

Yuuri sighs but doesn’t immediately dismiss his request like before. “Not impossible, just very…risky.”

“But he’s had many chances to—to do something and he hasn’t.”

“I know,” Yuuri says, “But you don’t know the awful things he’s capable of doing to get what he wants.”

Yuri doesn’t object to this because it’s true, he knows what Viktor has done but he doesn’t know the details or the extent of the blood that Viktor has shed in the quest for revenge. It might be that he’ll hate Yuri for this and hate the child that Yuri now carried in his womb for they were of the same blood as Emperor Dieter. He might finally find the courage to kill the last living person of the Lohengramm Dynasty if he was disgusted enough. A feeling of nausea settles inside him, _of course_ , he thinks, of course, he wouldn’t want a child with Yuri. How could he want to mix his blood with Yuri’s, with the same blood of the Emperor that killed his mother?

“Do you trust me?” Yuuri asks, suddenly, distracting Yuri of his thoughts.

Yuri pauses, because once upon a time he didn’t, but now, after all that Yuuri has done for him he knows that even if he didn’t trust Yuuri he would have to rely on him. “I do,” He answers.

Yuuri smiles, faintly, “I will try to talk to him. I haven’t in a long time…but I’ll try to figure out his intentions and if I think…he’s genuine in his worry for you…I will…bring him here.”

Yuri feels hope rising in his chest, a fragile thing that can be torn apart in seconds, but he nods, feeling relief and apprehension.

“Now,” Yuuri says, “Enough of feeling sadness! Would you like to visit the city with me? We can go out to eat and celebrate!”

“Celebrate?”

“Yes! You’re pregnant! No matter the circumstances this is something worth celebrating.” He smiles widely, and Yuri can almost believe him. 

* * *

Marriage doesn’t change things much for Yuri. He’s still bound to the palace, he has no freedom, and Andreas is as annoying as ever. All in all, sometimes his wedding ceremony just felt like a large multi-million credit party that didn’t have any meaning. There are _some_ little things, but they’re not big enough to have an impact on his day to day life. For example, now he has a mark that he bears on his neck that sometimes pulses when Viktor is close by and it’s required that his husband sits beside him at all the boring dinners and balls. 

But that’s why he has Suri. 

He doesn’t know where Otabek found her but he does know she’s _heaven-sent_. She had been his double for over a year now and Yuri had no qualms about leaving the entire state of the galaxy in her hands. Because it wasn’t like she was just a placeholder for him, the girl was smart, with a photographic memory, and when they couldn’t sit and have a meeting about a decision that had to be made on the spot, she had to make the decisions based on her own judgment, so far, she was doing a better job than he would have hoped. 

Suri had been an addition to his entourage when Yuri was testing the loyalties of his immediate attendants. 

Otabek, like his father before him, was the head of the Emperor’s security detail, and at first, Yuri had considered asking him for his hand in marriage, but in the end, it wouldn’t have worked. Otabek wasn’t someone Andreas would find threatening, and in fact, Otabek had been on Andreas' original list of candidates of consorts. So Yuri had risked everything when he asked Otabek where his loyalties were.

“To the crown,” He had answered, very sure of himself, “To you.”

“If that’s the case,” Yuri had begun, “I need you to find me a double.”

Otabek’s brow quirked, but he hadn’t asked why, instead, he’d nodded his head, and just as he was about to turn away, Yuri said, “Tell no one about it. Not unless I say so.”

He’d tried to test Mila’s loyalty too, but she had scoffed when she figured out Yuri’s intentions, “I have been with you since you were this big,” She held up her hand to her hip, “If I wanted to betray you, I would have done it already. I’ve had plenty of chances.”

So, at least he can trust three people.

The first time Suri and he switch places, he feels free for the first time since he was six years old. He feels like he has so much time to do what he wants despite only switching for about three hours at a time. He explores the palace in a way he never could before. He doesn’t have Mila, Otabek, Yuuri, or any other person or soldier following after him like chaperones. It gives him a new perspective. Andreas had never let him wander alone, always using the excuse that there could be a threat to his life and the only place he’d ever been allowed to be alone had been his room, but after what happened with his mother, he couldn’t sleep there. He had nightmares every time he closed his eyes.

The world seemed so much different when he posed as a commoner, it seemed so much bigger. He ends up posing as a servant, but not the ones he saw serving food or drinks in the ballroom, instead, it’s the ones that are behind the scenes, the one's Yuri as the Emperor never saw. The ones that scrubbed his bathroom clean and did his laundry, the ones that polished his shoes, ironed the curtains, and painstakingly mended the cushions stitch by stitch. The people that no one cared about and yet they were the ones that made this entire palace function correctly.  He becomes familiar with some of them, and he comes to learn that if there’s anything he needs to know _they’ll_ know it first because their information network is quite expansive. The gossip of the palace runs amok between them and this is how he comes to learn of Andreas' various amorous relationships. 

After Yuri gets married, he even begins hearing things about himself.

“Wow,” Lian says, fanning himself, “Emperor Yuri sure is lucky.”

“ _Lucky?_ About what?” Anna answered.

“You can’t be blind. Prince Viktor is _so_ beautiful. No wonder His Majesty didn’t bother with the nobles…I sure wouldn’t have if that man was available.”

And this…this is always that Yuri has always found amusing. There’s something comedic about listening to people talk about him without them knowing him.

“I think Prince Viktor is the lucky one.” Another servant chimes in, “He has it made for the rest of his life.”

“You guys talk as if either of them liked each other,” Anna says shaking her head. 

“You don’t think they do?”

“For people like them, it’s all political. No love between them at all! I think it’s sad, personally.”

“But who is to say they won't fall in love?” Lian argues.

“You always have your head stuck in the clouds,” Anna tells him, “Real life doesn’t work like in the holodramas.”

“ _So?_ Who cares?” The other boy says, smiling, unbothered by the negativity, “I can make up scenarios all day long in my head and not have to face reality.”

“And what’s reality?” 

“Well, this." He motions to his surroundings, “If I’m focused on other people’s lives,” Lian continues, “I don’t have to focus on mine.”

Anna shakes her head in exasperation and the other servants listening in roll their eyes too. 

“Anyway!” Anna says, “The way I see it is that they’ll have a kid or two, and then Emperor Yuri will get five concubines and if he’s anything like his father he’ll end up going through all the nobles before he turns twenty. Prince Viktor will also have his adventures and everyone will pretend not to notice so he doesn’t end up getting killed. That’s how Emperor Dieter and Prince Andreas were.”

The servants all nod along at this statement in agreement and Yuri can’t help the sting of anger that burns at his heart. He hated being compared to Dieter. 

“What do you think Suri?” Lian asks him, later when they’re back in the gardens watering the rosebushes. 

“About what?”

“About the Emperor and the Prince. Do you think they’ll fall in love?”

Yuri stays quiet for a few moments and then with nonchalance says, “Who cares? It’s none of my business.”

“I think they will,” Lian says, ignoring once again the negativity, “I don’t think Emperor Yuri is anything like his father. He’s young but he’s very smart and Prince Viktor seems nice...at least he treats us like we're human and not...droids like Prince Andreas does.”

Yuri’s hand tightens around the water hose he’s holding, “I wouldn’t know.”

Around the fifth month of their marriage, Viktor finds out about the double. He’s shocked and stupefied about it but he quickly collects himself like the great Fleet Admiral that he is. 

He doesn’t give Yuri’s ruse away to anyone so Yuri feels as though he’s trustworthy, for the time being. Yuri surmises that it would do him well to have the prince by his side, even if it’s at arm's length, he _was_ a great Admiral after all. It must have pained him to part ways with his rank, after all the years of hard work he put into it, but now that he was Yuri’s consort, he had to relinquish all forms of naval affiliations, despite still wearing his uniform. Viktor wasn’t a noble, nor was he related to anyone of royal prestige, all Viktor had achieved in his life, had been through hard work and his unrelenting drive for revenge. That’s why Yuri had married him and put him in a position of power.

Tradition stated that if the ruling Emperor did not have living heirs, the crown went to the consort. It’s why Andreas had wanted to get rid of all those that had any claim to the throne and why he had wanted Yuri to chose one of his candidates for marriage. If Yuri died without an heir, the consort would become Emperor and they could abdicate the throne to Andreas. But Yuri had chosen Viktor in a gamble of life and death.

Right now, with the way things had been arranged, Viktor had no say or vote in the affairs of the Empire, but once Yuri died, he would have all the power and then some. He hopes Viktor will be smart about it. 

It surprises him just how well he ends up getting along with his consort. Despite their age difference, Yuri finds him easy to talk to and Viktor doesn't talk to him with condescension. He talks to Yuri like Yuri is someone worth listening to. Over the coming months, he begins to really get to know him and Yuri thinks he's not too bad.

For the past two years, Yuri has spent his birthday alone, sitting at the table, watching as all his subjects danced and laughed, unable to join in on the celebrations that were meant for him. This year, however, his husband is by his side, and Yuri feels more talkative than usual. He is turning fifteen and this is the first time anyone has actually cared enough to listen to what he has to say. 

“Your Majesty,” Viktor says, trying very hard not to laugh, “I honestly don’t think it’s a good idea to be betting on people like this.”

“Don’t be such a bore!” Yuri tells him, he looks around the great room, and his eyes land on a count from a visiting system, “Look,” He subtly motions, “what do you think about him?”

Viktor looks to where Yuri is looking and his eyebrows quirk, “He doesn’t look like it.” 

“I say he does. How much are you putting on the table?”

“Nothing.” Viktor says, “I highly doubt—“

“Oh come _on._ Just place your bet, he’s never going to know, and even if he does what’s he going to do?”

“But it—“

“Ugh,” Yuri says disgusted, “You are _bo_ ring. The servants always place bets and they never get caught. You need to learn to live a little.”

“We are not servants, Your Majesty.”

Yuri rolls his eyes as he activates his wristband. He looks around, besides Viktor, there is no one close to him so he can freely pull up the table on the holopad. The table immediately pulls up and bets are flying a mile a minute. He can barely properly read the bets that are being placed. 

It’s an illegal gambling portal that the servants had set up and he’d been granted entry after working in the gardens for a few months. Of course, the bets all involve the nobles, raging from who’s going to end up throwing up in their soup, to who would get divorced or married next, to who’s going to wake up with who come tomorrow morning. When Yuri had first seen been invited into the portal, he hadn’t seen the point of it, but after betting on a whim that Andreas would end up in bed with one of the Marquess he’d won close to a thousand credits on his first bet and since then, this had been his greatest entertainment during these parties.

He feels Viktor lean over his shoulder, trying to look at the portal. 

“There are quite a lot of bets on us,” He mumbles close to Yuri’s ear. 

Yuri nods, he’d been a bit weirded out at first, seeing his name being thrown around with people Yuri wouldn’t look at _once_ but since those bets would never, ever come true, he stopped caring about them. The ones with Viktor remained because someday, when they consummated their marriage, someone would end up rich and the servants all wanted part of the winnings. 

“They’re still waiting for the day we—“ He shuts his mouth close, feeling embarrassed all of a sudden to be saying it out loud. “—I mean. We’re married, after all. The bet is always there.”

“I see…” Viktor says, trailing off but doesn’t comment further. Then without waiting prompting from Yuri he tells him, “I bet fifty credits on Andreas and Philip.”

Yuri smiles widely, “I was _just_ about to put that one in too.”

* * *

The guest room eventually becomes the last place he wants to be in, he cannot stand looking at the same fixed point on the walls . So he begins walking the empty halls of the villa. It was located on an Island, a few miles away from the mainland and the capital of Ileon, Aeremire. He'd gone there with Yuuri and it had been an amazing experience. There had been so many people and languages being spoken as he walked the market; the food was also a marvel, it was unlike anything Yuri had ever eaten at the palace, heavy in spices and flavourful. 

The villa is split into two wings, one contained the guest bedroom, the bedrooms of the servants, and the general living rooms and the other contained the private rooms of the Masters of the house. Though those were empty since Viktor hadn't been here in years. 

It’s a beautiful place, with high ceilings and arched windows that had amazing views in all directions. The walls were decorated with paintings and portraits of people Yuri had never seen. He could only assume they were people of the Nikiforov family. They had a rose garden too, nothing as large and grand as the one in the palace, but it was still amazing to walk through nonetheless. If the weather was good, Yuri would go there in the early hours of the morning and watch the rise of the sun. The days passed so painstakingly slowly that the days felt eternal.

And he missed Viktor. 

Missed him so desperately it was like something had hollowed out inside his chest. 

He wanted to see him, to hear his voice, to at least see his face but every time Yuri asked Yuuri how things were going, Yuuri would shake his head and tell him, “Not yet.” 

And it wasn’t like Yuri didn’t understand why, but every time Yuuri told him no, frustrated tears welled up in his eyes and he felt lonelier than ever. 

As the beginning of the second month starts, he’s been there long enough that he stops caring about propriety and what the servants will think or say and crosses the line to the private quarters of the villa. The first room he comes across, is the Master bedroom, and he almost turns right back around, but something makes him cross the threshold into what once must have been Viktor’s mother’s room. He looks around noting that it was cleaned spotless, and there wasn’t an item out of place. If Yuri didn’t know any better, he’d think that Lady Nikiforov was just out for a moment and she’d be right back in to sit at her vanity and apply her makeup. But the jars on the vanity are empty, and the bed is made so perfectly he knows no one has laid on it for years. He feels a sense of sadness wash over him, but he doesn’t quite understand why. 

He wonders what type of woman she was, wonders if she wanted grandchildren, if she would have like Yuri, if she thought Viktor would one day love him. He bites the inside of his cheek, trying to chase those thoughts away, he doesn’t know why he’s having these thoughts, or why it should matter that Viktor loved him. He wonders why this unknown woman should matter to him at all. 

He continues walking around the room, taking in the time to take in the various trinkets and ornaments in the room until he comes to a stop at the bedside table. There, innocently set on its holder, is a small holo sphere. He looks at it for a long moment, debating if it’s appropriate to look through it. He thinks about leaving it, tells himself that he’s already rummaged enough through a dead person's belongings enough but curiosity gets the best of him and he takes the sphere in his hand. 

He activates it and the holo lights up, and the first thing Yuri sees is a child. 

“Say hi,” A woman says.

“Hi!” The child, who cannot be more than four years old, answers giving a large smile.

Yuri is suddenly hit with recognition, the blue eyes are unmistakable, and the silver hair even more so. It’s Viktor. A much younger, much cuter Viktor. 

He can’t help the smile that blooms on his face. 

He takes a seat on the edge of the bed and rewinds it all the way back and watches the memory clips that must have belonged to Viktor’s mother. When the roll comes to an end, Viktor is only eleven and then there are no more memory clips. He wonders if this was around the time she was taken to the royal harem. 

He knows he shouldn’t but he steals the sphere from the room and that night he plays it over and over again until his eyes begin to droop. In the hazy state of near unconsciousness he thinks, _Soon I’ll have my own little Viktor too._

The next day, he wakes up, and the holo is still replaying.

Yuri should return it, but he can’t bring himself to do it, and instead carries it around, tied to his wristband. He doesn’t visit the private wing for a while but then, curiosity takes hold of him again and he goes back.

He walks past the Master bedroom and into the next room, the study. There he finds the large hand painted portraits of Viktor’s family. They’re done in the old style, using paints and preserved to keep them from aging and losing their color. Yuri’s old governess had spent an entire month teaching him about how paintings were preserved in this era were pen and paper didn’t exist anymore unless it was a hobby. 

The first one is of Viktor’s father, in his portrait he looks very serious, his navy uniform pristine, and his gaze dark and unamused. Besides his very distinct nose, Viktor looks nothing like him, but Yuri wonders what his personality had been like, and if all the cruelty had come from him. He tries not to think about it.

The next is of Viktor’s mother, and she’s the one that Viktor inherited the silver hair and piercing blue eyes from. Yuri had heard about her from some of the ladies in waiting. She had been a quiet person, very reserved and private. When she had come to the palace she had not spoken much to anyone. _It was such a shame_ , One of the ladies had said, _She was so beautiful and yet she died so horribly._ The Emperor had beaten her to death, disfigured her so terribly no one would have been able to identify her. Her casket had been drilled shut before being returned to the villa. Yet another person Dieter had ruined.

“I’m sorry,” He whispers to her portrait, pressing a hand to his navel. 

He doesn’t know why he’s apologizing but he feels like he should, maybe somehow, from beyond the grave she’d be able to convince Viktor to love this child. He feels quite stupid for thinking such things.

The dead were dead. Nothing would ever change that.

He moves on, and his heart begins to beat wildly in his chest. The last portrait is of Viktor, he looks young, eighteen at the most. His face, like his father, looks very grave. His blue eyes staring directly at the person painting, his gaze determined, ready to begin repaying the Lohengramm’s their due. He’s wearing his naval uniform so he must have already graduated from the academy by this time. 

Yuri steps close to it, tracing the lines of his face, his eyes, his nose, his lips. 

“Do you hate me?” He asks, wishing desperately that he could see his husband in the flesh and ask the burning questions that have been gnawing at his heart and sanity, “Do you want to kill me?”

He receives no response but silence. 

He steps away, feeling bitter. Not only at Viktor, but at the circumstances of his life. For a moment he allows himself to wallow in self-pity and asks himself, _why me? why did it have to be me?_

Tears sting the back of his eyelids but he refuses to cry. He refuses to give into the despair that wants to overtake him. 

“Sir,” A voice says from somewhere behind him.

Yuri almost jumps out of his skin and swirls around. Natasha is standing a few feet away from him, looking at him curiously. 

He shoves his emotions down, forcefully clearing his throat, and almost snaps, “How long have you been there?”

“I apologize for scaring you,” She carefully tells him, her eyes shifting around the room and then back to Yuri. She doesn’t question what he is doing in the private study of Viktor’s mother. “And I have been here long enough.”

Yuri doesn’t know what that means, or what she’s trying to imply but he doesn't want to wait and find out. He begins to walk away but she stops him with her next words, “I have been with the Nikiforov family since my Lady was a mere little girl,” She smiles at some memory, “She was quite the rebel, believe it or not. When she married, I didn’t think it would be possible to hold her down, and but motherhood changed her. She always put Master Viktor first and indulged all his whims, he loved her very much.” Natasha smiles wryly, “When she died, a part of him died with her.”

Yuri remains silent, wondering to himself why she’s telling him these things. 

“He only returned here once after he graduated from the academy. That was…over a decade ago. In fact, for a long time, he didn’t even call and the only way I knew he was alive was through the news. He’s made quite the name for himself.” She pauses, letting her gaze fall on Yuri, “But that changed, once he got married.” 

Yuri bites the inside of his cheek, before asking, “What do you mean?”

“He called for the first time. He even mentioned wanting to come here for a time…with the Emperor. I think the plans didn’t quite work out the way he wanted them to, but I didn’t really care, I was just glad that he had called.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Yuri finally asks.

Natasha gives him a knowing glance, “I am not entirely sure what your relationship with Master Nikiforov is. Whether that is _friendship_ or something else. I do not care. I do not even care that having you here might be treason against the Empire. You are pregnant with his child, and that is enough for me.”

Yuri tenses, “How—how did you know?”

“You smell like him,” She says. 

“You’re not on suppressants?” 

“I’m not. It is not customary in Ileon to take them.”

“O-oh.” He says, swallowing thickly, “I didn’t know that.”

She smiles faintly, with a tinge of sadness, “Does he know?”

Yuri shakes his head, “I never had the chance to tell him.”

Natasha seems to understand and doesn’t press further. Yuri excuses himself and goes back to the guest room. He lights up the memory clips again, letting them play over and over until they lull him to something similar to sleep. 

* * *

It’s not enough anymore. 

He comes to a point that he can’t make himself cum with his hand, he tries and tries but it’s all just painful rather than pleasurable. The heat under his skin is unbearable and even submerging entirely in a tub of ice-water doesn’t help him.  There is a solution, of course, and no one would judge him if he found relief in it. After all, this was one of the reasons why he got married. One of the reasons why he _had_ to marry. So he wouldn’t self combust to death. He had avoided it for as long as he could but as more months passed the more he realized that he needed Viktor’s help.

And he hated it.

But the only other alternative was using simulators and that was even worse. Yuri wouldn’t be able to leave the simulation until his heat passed and that left him too vulnerable. But with Viktor, he could leave every night after he found his relief. 

So he decides to go to him.

Viktor doesn’t turn him away.

He's a nervous wreck but Viktor helps him relax, "It's okay," He whispered into Yuri's ear, "We'll go slow." 

But the thing is Yuri didn't want to go slow, he just wanted it to be over with already. He ends up blurting out, to distract himself, "The servants are going to have a field day tomorrow."

Viktor almost laughs, "Your Majesty, please focus."

"I am focused," Yuri squeaked, giving his nervousness away.

Viktor plays with his fingers as they stand in front of each other, and Yuri can't stand it, the heat is beginning to get worse inside him, "So do I just...get naked or something?"

"Eventually," His husband says, he touches Yuri's hair and Yuri almost shudders, "But first, there's something else. Close your eyes."

Yuri doesn't really want to, but he obeys. For a few seconds nothing happens, but then he feels something brushing against his lips very lightly, and it tickles. He wants to recoil, but Viktor holds him close, and then Yuri feels the full press of his lips against his. It's strange but not unwelcome.

He doesn't know how long they kiss for but it's sweet, almost. Eventually, Viktor pulls away just enough to instruct, his breath hot against Yuri's skin, "Open your mouth."

Yuri does, and that sweetness he had felt shifted into something darker, something smoldering. He can feel his entire body trembling, his face flushed, and the heat of his core suddenly much more intense than anything he's ever felt before. 

Viktor pulls away but Yuri grabs his face between his hands and demands, chasing his mouth , "More."

"Yes," Viktor agrees, picking Yuri up, and taking him to the bed. He lays Yuri down gently and without waiting for Yuri to ask, lays his body on top of him, and kisses him again. 

The first time, Viktor only uses his hands and his mouth. And it’s _so_ warm and wet—Yuri has never felt anything like it before—and from the moment he cums, he knows he wants more. He keeps coming back to Viktor at night. Now that he knows how good it can feel he doesn’t ever want to go back to suffering the way he had been the past few months.

His husband indulges him, and never turns him away. 

As the days pass, Viktor asks permission to use his fingers.

“Inside,” He says, in way of clarification.

“Inside…?” Yuri repeats, trailing off.

Viktor nods, and touches his entrance lightly, “Here.”

Yuri feels himself flush. 

He knows how this works, he _does_ , but watching holos and actually doing it are two completely different things. 

Viktor waits patiently for his answer and it isn’t until Yuri hesitantly nods that he begins to move again. 

It’s, well, it’s weird.

Viktor makes it good though, because as he’s carefully opening Yuri up, he has Yuri’s cock in his mouth. When it’s all over, and Viktor pulls his fingers away, Yuri doesn’t really know if that’s something he’d like to try again.

“It gets better,” Viktor tells him, as he cleans him up, “Give it a few more tries and you’ll see.”

“Mmm,” Yuri hums, unconvinced.

The next few nights he spends with Viktor follow the same pattern, Viktor will suck him off as he pushes one, then two, then three fingers inside him. It still doesn’t get better but Viktor’s mouth feels amazing so Yuri puts up with it. Just as he’s beginning to think that there is something wrong with him he begins to realize that he’s becoming more sensitive. Yuri’s breath hitches when Viktor’s fingers graze something inside him and he feels like he’s no longer cuming due to Viktor’s mouth. But from both.

A few days later, he’s withering on the bed as Viktor looks down at him in fascination. His intense gaze is what makes Yuri realize that he’s moaning loudly but Viktor hasn’t touched his dick at all. The intense pleasure he’s feeling is all coming from _inside._

He chokes on a moan, pressing a hand to his mouth but Viktor croons, “No _no_ , let me hear how good it feels.”

Yuri could cry from embarrassment but more so from just how fucking _good_ Viktor’s fingers feel. When he comes, he sees stars in the back of his eyelids, and he digs his nails into Viktor’s biceps. His husband kisses his forehead as pulls his fingers out of him and Yuri tries to somehow catch his breath from the intense orgasm he just had. He presses his legs together because he can still feel the after-effects of it. 

“Did you like it?” Viktor has the nerve to ask despite what he just witnessed.

Yuri kind of wants to punch him but manages to say steadily, “Yes, I did.”

The next phase comes during Yuri's next heat. Viktor’s cock is bigger than his fingers, longer and thicker, and when the tip is stretching Yuri open the first time—the very first time—Yuri for a split second thinks it’s not going to fit. But Viktor pushes in slowly, letting Yuri accustom for every inch as he mutters encouragements into Yuri’s ears until finally, _finally,_ he’s buried in Yuri’s warmth entirely. 

Viktor leans back, looking down at Yuri on his back, his legs spread open as his cock is buried completely in. Yuri likes how uncomposed he looks, how off-balance, how flushed and focused he is on _Yuri._

Viktor laces one of their hands together, as he grips Yuri’s hip with the other, and pulls out. 

“Fuck,” Yuri mutters as Viktor presses back in, closing his eyes, and then as he does it more and more, “ _Oh, fuckfuck_ fuck!” 

Despite the pain it feels good, it feels _so so_ good and Yuri can’t quite form a coherent thought after a while. When he comes, it’s better than anything he’s even experienced, better than cuming down Viktor’s throat, better that cuming from the prostate massage, it’s better because Viktor is cuming with him, he groans right into Yuri’s ear, and presses in so deep that Yuri’s eyes roll to the back of his head and his toes curl in delight. 

From there, it becomes almost impossible to let Viktor go, because Yuri wants more every single time they meet. More of Viktor’s mouth, more of Viktor’s fingers, more of Viktor’s kisses, more of _Viktor._

Yuri has always been attracted to his husband, since the moment he saw him, Viktor was visually and physically appealing to Yuri, he _liked_ him. Yuri thought he was handsome, he wasn’t fucking _blind_. He liked the color of his eyes, and the way he kept his hair swept to the side, he liked to see him in his uniform, all tall and powerful, he liked running his hands along his strong shoulders, and the way his skin felt against his own. 

And he wanted more. 

Yuri wanted all of it.

He wants him every single fucking day, in whichever way Viktor will have him, he wants Viktor when he’s in heat but he also craves him when he's in his sanity. 

And Viktor doesn’t tell him to stop. He doesn’t turn Yuri away and only seems to encourage him. He indulges Yuri even in public, Yuri will tug on his sleeve in the middle of a meeting with the generals and Viktor will smile at him, quirk his eyebrow, and when the meeting is done, and everyone is gone, he’ll pull Yuri away and fuck him in his office or on the table or against the wall. Viktor makes sure Yuri is never unsatisfied, never left wanting or feeling like he’s in need of more. And maybe it’s this that makes Yuri stop and question himself, does Viktor even want him? Or is he doing this out of a sense of duty? Is Yuri the only one feeling like he can't function without him?

First he questions Yuuri, because he thinks that he’d know something seeing as they were once friends but Yuuri looks absolutely horrified when he asks and he stutters, “Y-your Majesty, while I-I appreciate that you-you think so fondly of me as to ask my humble opinion I-I-I think this is not a conversation we should have.”  His voice had cracked at the end. 

Yuri frowned, “Why not?”

“It’s just not proper!” He almost screeched, “Please don’t ask me!”

And maybe it’s stupid, but because he didn’t get a clear answer form Yuuri he asks Otabek too, “Do you think he’s satisfied with the way things are?”

Otabek clears his throat, and very diplomatically says, “With all due respect, Your Majesty, I don’t think that’s a question you should be asking anyone but him.”

Yuri rolls his eyes, “I just want your opinion.”

“And I just want your consort to not see me as a threat.”

The blond raises his eyebrows, “Why would he see you as a threat?”

Otabek looks a little uncomfortable but he tells Yuri, “I don’t think he’d appreciate it if you had conversations like these with me. Or anyone except him for that matter.”

“But why?”

“Just…I think you should ask him.”

Yuri, after both his confidants fail him, decides to take their advice. But he chooses the worst time to bring it up. 

“I’m sorry,” Viktor says, pausing mid-thrust, “What?”

Yuri feels his ears burn in embarrassment but now that the question is out, he can’t pretend he doesn’t want to know the answer, “I want to know if you’re satisfied with me. No one would tell me if you were, so I’m asking you myself.”

Viktor looks as though he doesn’t know what to say for a few moments but then something else seems to catch his attention. “No one would tell you…” He repeats slowly, “You asked someone about this?”

There’s something about the way his voice drops that makes the hair on the back of Yuri’s neck stand on end. 

He clears his throat, “Ye-yes.”

His husband blinks slowly, and then, through almost gritted teeth asks, “Who?”

“Yuuri…and Otabek.” Yuri admits after a moment. For a split second, Viktor looks absolutely livid, like he’s going to pull away from Yuri forever and kill someone. But he closes his eyes instead, and takes in a deep breath, when he opens his eyes again, he looks like the Viktor Yuri has come to know. The tension eases away slowly.

He pulls Yuri up so that he’s sitting on his lap and they’re eye to eye. 

“Your Majesty,” He begins, pushing some of Yuri’s hair back, “I want to ask two favors from you.” He begins to move again, kissing down the length of Yuri’s neck, “One, if you ever have any questions about us, don’t ask anyone else but me. I will be more than happy to talk to you about whatever you’d like.” Then his voice darkens, and it goes straight to Yuri’s core, and his strong hands grip his hips, his nails digging into his skin, “And second, when I have you like this,” Yuri chokes out a moan, “Don’t mention another man’s name _ever_ again.”

* * *

After his conversation with Natasha, that very same night, after all the servants have gone to their rooms, Yuri goes back to the private side of the villa. The world outside is dark, and he can hear the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks, it's so silent Yuri can almost hear the sound of his heartbeat. He doesn't go into the Master bedroom or the study or the library or any of the other rooms. His destination is the last room in the hallway, the one at the very end, the one he'd been avoiding.

He stops outside the door for a few moments and then, as he takes a deep breath, he pushes the door open. He's not sure what he's expecting, to be honest, but it's all very anti-climatic. It's just a room. Its previous inhabitant hadn't been inside for over a decade, it was empty. Abandoned. Yuri walks in, closing the door gently behind him. It's dark, cold, and depressing. He searches for the adjuster in the dark and locates it against the wall. He takes it, using it to turn on the light, and regulate the temperature and humidity in the room. In only a few seconds, the room has reached a temperature he's comfortable with and though it's no longer dark and cold it still feels very impersonal. 

As he looks around the place, he sees no evidence of Viktor ever living here. It seems just as empty as the guest room. He sits on the bed, running his hands over the linen, it's the same type that used all over the house, nothing special about it. He doesn't really know what he wanted to find here, or what his reason for being here is. All he knows is that this had once been Viktor's childhood bedroom and he wanted to see it. There was no special reason. He just wanted to see the place Viktor had grown up in. 

Viktor hasn't been here in years, it doesn't smell like him, not like how his room back at the palace had, but when Yuri lays down on the bed he feels, for the first time since coming here, comfortable. It's nothing special. Yuri closes his eyes and without him realizing it, falls asleep. He falls into a deep, restful sleep, feeling safe for the first time in over five years. 

He doesn't go back to the guestroom.

"I'll sleep in Viktor's room," He tells Natasha the next morning at breakfast, "I like it better."

He doesn't care that the other servants stare at him like he's an intruder, or about what their opposition might be.

"That won't be a problem," The housekeeper says, "We'll move your belongings there."

He wishes he could say that he doesn't feel deep satisfaction when the person that's sent is Nora. But he does. 

When she delivers his things he's there, eating chocolates on Viktor's bed, and making himself right at home. He smiles thinly at her, "Be sure to close the door on your way out."

She bows, "Of course, sir."

The following days he spends a lot of his time sleeping. He feels marginally better every time he wakes up. When he looks in the mirror he starts to see a stranger, his cheeks are fuller, his eyes are clear, and his hair shinier. His body has begun to change, readying itself to accommodate the child that was growing every day inside him. He didn't hate it. Instead, it brought a smile to his face. He wanted this. He wanted this happiness, one he had given up on so long ago, and now, although unexpectedly, had presented itself to him and he was going to take it with both hands. 

_Family._ His very own.

The doctor looks delighted the next time he sees Yuri, "You are looking much healthier."

He nods, "I've been sleeping a lot better."

"Wonderful! I was beginning to think that I was going to have to prescribe you something stronger."

Yuri is still scared. Petrified that Viktor will hate him, that he'll try to kill him, but it's eclipsed by the feeling of joy he gets the first time he hears his child's heartbeat. So he begins to think about what he'll do next.

He'll give birth, ask Yuuri to help him, leave this place, and go somewhere Viktor will never be able to find him. He'll find work and raise his child on his own. He'll live. He'll be happy. 

Yuuri doesn't tell him anything, doesn't even give him a hint, so when Viktor arrives at the villa, he's asleep, and when he's woken up by his husband, he finally hears the words he's been waiting for and realizes that someone like him could be happy. More than that.

He could be _loved_.

* * *

His relationship with his husband begins to grow, it becomes more than just sex. They talk in the gardens often, away from everyone else, and Viktor treats Yuri like they're equals. He listens to Yuri talk about the Empire and about the things he sees wrong with it and doesn't call him a child, or a hopeless dreamer. Yuri begins to lower his guard around him and it only gets worse when Viktor lowers the dosage of his blockers.

Because he didn't have to do something like that, but he did it anyway because it would help Yuri with his heats more. 

He'd looked miserable on the days leading up to his rut.

"It's not as bad as it is for you," Viktor had told him, "But it's not fun either."

Yuri debates about going to see him during this time because he's not in heat, and Viktor wouldn't be focused on Yuri's pleasure but rather his own. But wasn't that exactly what Yuri had been doing? Going to him because he _needed_ him to be sane. In the end, he goes.

But after Yuri spends Viktor’s first rut with him, things change. He can’t quite pinpoint exactly what it is, but they do change. He feels it. Now every time they have sex, Viktor will bite, kiss, and nibble at Yuri’s mark constantly—hell, sometimes even when they’re _not_ having sex he’ll press a quick kiss to it in _public_ over his clothes. He doesn’t know why his husband has the sudden need to do things like that, he’d never done it before.

How can he explain it? It’s like…Viktor might actually…not hate him. 

Like maybe, the sex isn’t just because of his heats or because Viktor has to fulfill his duty as a consort. Like maybe Viktor actually wants him too and isn’t putting up with Yuri’s whims and requests. Like he might cherish him and maybe even care about him. But that type of thinking—that type of hope—is dangerous. 

In December, when Viktor’s birthday rolls around, he asks Yuri to spend the night with him, of course, he chooses to ask when Yuri’s more likely to say yes. That is to say, when he’s edging him and won’t let him cum unless he agrees, “Stay with me tonight,” He mumbles into his ear with his cock buried to the hilt but he won’t fucking _move._

“I-I can—can’t—“ Yuri gasps.

“But it’s my birthday,” He reminds him, whining like a child, “You have to. Please,” He breathes into the shell of Yuri’s ear and he can’t help the full-body shudder that runs down his spine, “I’m _begging,_ Your Majesty.”

“I ha-have a meeting—in the-the morning,” Yuri stutters out, clenching his eyes shut to try and keep himself under control.

“That’s what the double is for,” Viktor answers back easily. 

The blond shakes his head again, trying not to let him win, but it’s been a long night. 

Viktor’s birthday ball had been two days ago but Yuri asked him if there was anything he wanted for his birthday and Viktor had thought about it for a few moments before his face lit up and he said, “Have dinner with me.” He didn’t think it would turn into this. Or, well, he did but not to this extent. It turns out that Viktor hadn't been planning on eating food that evening, rather, he’d cheekily asked Yuri to strip and lay out on his table, the one that was in his private dining room, and then he’d cheekily informed Yuri, “You’re my dinner tonight.” They had since moved to the bed. 

Yuri tilts his hips, trying to find relief but Viktor holds his waist down with both hands firmly, not letting him move. Yuri releases a noise of protest, the bastard probably had this all planned out. Right from the moment he’d asked to bind Yuri’s hands with a scarf. 

“Stay with me,” Viktor says again.

Yuri shakes his head and Viktor pouts above him, “You’re being _so_ mean to me.” He slides out of him, so fucking slowly Yuri wants to punch him in the face and pushes back in with the same slow pace. He does this over and over until Yuri is a panting mess on the bed. The fact that he’s been overstimulated for the past two hours doesn’t help. He feels like he’s going crazy and his thoughts become muddled. He can feel himself losing his resolve but he knows that the relief would be _so_ good. 

Yuri is proud of himself for at least lasting long enough that Viktor starts to look worried that his manipulation tactics aren’t working but he he caves eventually, “Ok-k _ay._ _Fuck._ Okay. Just—“

Viktor doesn’t even give him the chance to finish his sentence before he picks up the pace and Yuri’s breath hitches on his throat. He cums hard mere seconds later, his mouth open in a silent scream, his legs clamping tightly around Viktor’s waist. Every nerve in his body is lit up in pleasure and his vision goes white. It doesn’t take much for Viktor to cum inside him either, because he’d been on the edge too, just waiting for Yuri’s agreement. After he’s done, he pulls out, untying Yuri’s hands before resting his forehead on Yuri’s shoulder and letting his entire weight fall on him. 

Yuri likes this. 

Likes to hold Viktor as he regains his bearings and slides a hand though his sweaty hair as they both catch their breath. He likes to run his hands over his strong shoulders as he feels his heartbeat against his ribcage, likes feeling the security of being in his arms, likes feeling protected. Though it’s stupid because this is the man that wanted him dead, the one who wanted to kill all those related to the man that made his mother suffer and though Yuri had nothing to do with it, he was the Emperor’s son and he’d never be able to escape from that. And it was reason enough for Viktor to detest him. He feels tears prickle the back of his eyes and hates himself—for wanting this. For—for hoping—

He feels Viktor kiss his mark again and his heart lurches in his chest painfully. 

His husband raises himself on his elbows and gives him a lazy smile, “So you’re staying?”

Yuri rolls his eyes, hoping he won't see his watering eyes, “I guess.”

“Don’t be like that,” Viktor says, grabbing his nose between his fingers, Yuri slaps his hand away with the little strength he has. Viktor laughs as he gets up to reach for the wet cloth to clean Yuri with. 

“Hold your legs,” He tells him and Yuri hates him for it.

He grabs the backs of his knees and puts himself on display for the pervert. Yuri doesn’t get his fascination with it, but Viktor gets a kick out of watching his cum ooze out of him.He wipes him down carefully, mindful that Yuri is still sensitive as hell and doesn’t have much energy.

“I’ll be right back,” Viktor tells him, as he gets up from the bed and goes out into the drawing room of his suite. Yuri closes his eyes, dozing off a little while he can, but doesn’t let himself truly fall asleep. A few minutes pass before he hears the door open again and he blinks himself back to full consciousness. 

“Do you want to sleep?” He hears Viktor ask.

He shakes his heads, “No, I’m fine. What’s that?” He asks when he sees the boxes in Viktor’s hands.

“Presents!” He exclaims and sets the boxes on the bed as he climbs back in and Yuri sits up. “Generally,” Viktor continues, piling up the pillows against the headboard so they can lean against them, “People just give me boring gifts, but today this arrived from Ileon and I wanted to share it with you.”

Yuri raises his brows, “What is it?”

Viktor pulls open the top of the boxes and smiles, “Chocolates and wine.”

“Chocolate?” 

“Yes, _real_ chocolate, by the way. Not that artificial junk you find here. Made out of real cacao nuts.” 

Yuri peers at the box curiously and sees an assortment of the sweets. “They look good.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Viktor responds as he pulls one out and holds it to him. Yuri reaches for it but Viktor pulls his hand away and shakes his head, “Open your mouth,” He instructs instead.

“I can eat on my own,” Yuri answers, a bit annoyed.

“I’m sure you can, but I want to feed it to you.”

“Why?”

“Because…” He says, “There’s something special about it.”

Yuri rolls his eyes, “Like what?”

Viktor shrugs, “Just eat it?”

“Whatever,” Yuri mumbles as he opens his mouth. Viktor smiles and places the chocolate in his mouth. It melts immediately and his tastebuds are assaulted by the delicious sweet taste. “They’re good.”

“Really?” Viktor asks coyly, “I don't quite remember how good they are. Let me taste them.”

Before Yuri can tell him to get some on his own, Viktor grasps his chin, tilting it up and pulling him into a very sweet kiss. When he pulls away he gives Yuri a smile, “They _are_ good.”

Yuri’s cheeks burn red, “Funny.”

Viktor continues feeding him the chocolates, they sip wine in between, and when the chocolates are all gone Yuri realizes that he’s giggling a bit excessively. 

His husband looks at him with amusement, “I think the wine was stronger than I realized.”

“It was goo _ood_ ,” Yuri almost slurs and he falls back on the bed, “I think I’m tipsy,” He stretches his hands out, feeling sleepy. He closes his eyes, way too relaxed. Viktor moves the empty chocolate boxes and the wine bottle and he pulls back the covers of the bed, tucking Yuri in. Yuri is somewhere halfway to unconsciousness when Viktor slides next to him, draping an arm over his stomach. He thinks he feels him kissing his temple but sleep claims him before he can say for sure.

The next morning, Yuri wakes up to Viktor mouthing at his neck, “Your Majesty,” He’s cooing against his ear, “It’s time to wake up.”

From one split second to the next, Yuri’s entire body tenses, wide awake and his eyes blown open. He feels his heart constrict in absolute _fear._

“What’s wrong?” Viktor asks when he notices. 

_What’s wrong?_ Yuri wants to scream, _what’s wrong?!_ He fell _asleep_ , that’s what was wrong. Totally, utterly defenseless! Since Yuri had begun to ‘spend the night’ with Viktor during his ruts or when he asked, Yuri had never truly fallen asleep. He’d stayed awake throughout the night, in a state of half-consciousness, his eyes closed but his brain aware of everything that was going on around him. He had never allowed himself to fall asleep in front of anyone! No one! Never! Not even Mila or Otabek or Suri, the people he trusted the most. No, in the end, at any moment they could betray him. Just like his mother had. 

He feels himself begin to breathe heavily, a panic attack beginning.

“Hey,” Viktor says more seriously, looking down at him, “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Yuri shakes his head, unable to say anything. He shoots up from the bed, sliding off, and frantically looking for his clothes. He had to get out of here. How could he have _fallen asleep_? How could he have been so careless?

Viktor follows after him, “Yurochka, what’s wrong?”

Yuri still doesn’t answer him. He pulls on his clothes quickly, feeling worse and worse by the minute. 

“Hey, it’s alright.” Viktor interrupts, stepping in front of him, grabbing him by the shoulders, and forcing him to stop, “Tell me what’s wrong.”

Yuri can’t meet his eyes, he shakes his head again and somehow he manages to say, “I-I have to—I have to go.”

Viktor pushes his hair back and lifts up his face, Yuri focuses on the spot between his brows, swallowing thickly, and trying to stop his body from shaking. “Where do you have to go, Yura? You’re with me.”

Yuri almost wants to laugh, and suddenly he knows just what to do to get out of here. “I have to meet someone.”

Viktor frowns slightly, “Who?”

Yuri forces himself to calm down, to say very determinedly, “It doesn’t concern you.”

The older man looks taken aback for a few seconds and his hands drop. His jaw sets as he says, “Oh, right. I apologize for thinking otherwise.”

When Yuri leaves Viktor’s room, he goes to the room where he’d taken up residence for the past four years. He locks the door behind him, stripping out of his clothes, and goes straight to the restroom. He sits in the tub and opens the hot water, the cold dread in his stomach is still making his hands shake and he closes his eyes, pressing his hands to his forehead. The tub fills slowly with the water and he can feel the steam rising.

“It’s too hot! It’s too hot!” The insistent, high-pitched robotic voice of his little medical droid snaps him out of his trance. “It’s bad for your skin!”

He looks to the side, and it continues saying, “Your Majesty! Your Majesty! It’s too hot! It’s too hot!”

“I heard you the first time,” He tells it and turns off the tap. 

“Your heart rate is too high! Too high!” It goes on, “Would you like tranquilizers?”

“No.”

“Relaxers?”

“No.”

“Sleeping aids?”

“ _No._ Shut up, you’re being so annoying.” 

It makes a sad noise but doesn’t continue bothering him. Yuri finishes his bath, and when he steps out, the droid follows after him, still not satisfied with Yuri’s heart rate. “You’re still too tense! Too tense!”

Yuri dries off his hair and body, then slides into the bed, not bothering to put on clothes. He curls into a fetal position, feeling very unsafe. 

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!” The droid goes on, “Please relax! Relax!”

“You are not helping.” He mutters into the pillow, “Potya, mute.”

“Muting!” The droid says, it lights up in indignation but when it realizes Yuri won't unmute it, it rolls away angrily.

When Yuri is finally enveloped in silence, he allows himself to go into full-blown panic mode, and by the end of it, he’s cried it out, screamed into his pillow his frustration, and promises himself to never do something so stupid again. The fact that he was awake today was a miracle, he’d let down his guard too much. He’d become too comfortable. 

The following days, he maintains his distance from Viktor, they only talk briefly at dinner and Yuri doesn’t go to his room at all. Viktor doesn’t ask many questions, though every time Yuri dismisses his inquiries about when he should expect Yuri he looks upset. By the time the End of the Standard Year celebration rolls around, Viktor barely glances in Yuri’s direction. 

It makes him upset. 

He knows it’s his decision that has put distance between them and it shouldn’t make him unhappy, but it does. 

The ball that day is very grand, it always is. This is the most important celebration of the year, after all. The entire palace is teaming with nobles, military personnel, and commoners. In the years past, Yuri had chosen to spend this day in his room, while he let Suri take his place. But this year he doesn’t feel like doing that.

So he attends the celebration because he’ll be able to be by Viktor’s side, even if they don’t talk. 

Viktor comes to stand at his side before they’re called inside the great room, and without prompting offers his arm to Yuri. He takes it, stepping a bit closer.

Yuri hates protocol, generally, especially because his title is so long and so annoying that it takes forever to say, but today he’s almost grateful for the extra seconds he gets to stand beside Viktor without either of them saying anything.

“I apologize,” Viktor begins, looking straight ahead at the closed doors, “If I offended you.”

Yuri bites the inside of his cheek, and swallows, “You didn’t.”

“Why have you been avoiding me then?”

“Just—there was something.”

“Something you can’t talk about with me?”

Yuri shakes his head, “Something I can’t talk about with anyone.”

Viktor grabs his hand, squeezing it lightly, “I hope one day you’re able to tell me the things that are on your mind.”

Yuri doesn’t answer because he doesn’t know if there will ever be a time when he’ll be able to trust Viktor.

“Today,” His husband continues, just as Andreas begins to introduce them.

“—And now, presenting the Leader of all Humanity—”

Yuri turns his head to Viktor, to hear him better.

“—Sovereign of all the Universe, Defender of Law and Order Governing the Heavenly Ream—“

“Will you end and begin the year with me?”

“—Kaiser of the Sacred New Galactic Empire—“

Yuri blinks, surprised, not expecting that question.

“—His Imperial Majesty, Yuri von Lohengramm—”

Yuri snaps his gaze forward as the large doors begin to slowly open.

“—And his Royal Consort, Prince Viktor Nikiforov!”

They step forward at the same time, making the long walk to the throne as all the cameras and eyes are on them.

Viktor leads him to the throne chair, waits for him to sit, kisses his hand, and Yuri mutters to him as he’s pulling away. “Come find me.”

After the end of the year ceremony is done, Viktor does come to find him, and they spend the last ten minutes of the year and the first hours of the New Year together. And for the first time since they were married, Viktor invites him to dance and Yuri accepts. Yuri doesn't care about who is watching or what the bets for today are, all he cares is about Viktor's eyes on him, looking down at him like he was the most important person in the world. 

In February, Yuri’s heat and Viktor’s rut finally fall into sync. Yuri is expecting their days to be filled with mindless, instinct induced sex, with not much room for coherent thoughts. 

And it is like that, but in a way Yuri didn’t expect.

It’s sweaty skin pressed against sweaty skin, pleasure so intense he can see all the constellations of the west side of the galaxy when he closes his eyes. It’s Viktor holding him so close Yuri can feel his heartbeat in his blood. It’s quiet. Viktor’s forehead pressed against his own, as he stares into Yuri’s eyes and knots him. The knot is painful but Viktor tries to comfort his pained whimpers with soft kisses. He kisses brow bone, his lids, his nose, his cheeks, his jaw, his lips, and whispers, “You’re so perfect. So beautiful.” 

It feels a lot more meaningful than what Yuri had anticipated. It feels like the exact opposite of what he expected, actually. Less like sex and more like love. Impossible, impossible _love_.

Yuri cries and he feels vulnerable, stripped off his walls, masks, and shields and he wonders if Viktor can see how much Yuri lovesloves _loves._ How much he wants it reciprocated. His husband wipes away his tears, cradles the back of his head with one hand and touches his cheek with the other, and murmurs again, breaking Yuri’s heart, “So perfect.”

It’s all too much, too intense, too intimate, too weakening. He closes his eyes, tries to hold out until Viktor’s knot dislodges but Viktor says, “Look at me.” And Yuri can’t refuse him, he opens his eyes and through his tears he can see Viktor’s own glazed over and he says again, “Look at me, look only at me.”

Yuri nods. 

The two days they spend together are separate from all the other times. It’s slow sex, slow pleasure, slow love. 

Yuri is grateful he’s so far gone he can’t speak, because if he had the ability he’s sure he would have told Viktor everything, _I love you. I love you. Don’t hate me. I love you._

Three weeks later, Yuri begins to feel awful. 

Nauseous and grumpier than usual. He sleeps in more, letting Suri take care of all his morning meetings because he can’t find the energy to pull himself out of bed before ten AM. He begins craving chocolates and wild berries. 

Viktor notices, he smiles at Yuri at dinner and teases, “You seem to be in a real wild berry kick.”

Yuri looks down at his plate filled with various assortments of berries from different systems. He’d put in a request for them with the chefs this morning and tonight all the desserts on the table had some form of berries on them. Yuri shrugs, “They’re really good.” He holds his plate up, “Do you want some?”

Viktor shakes his head, “I’ve already eaten some.”

“Have you gotten any chocolates from Ileon?” He questions.

“No, but I can get some for you, if you’d like.”

Yuri’s eyes light up, and he nods, “When do you think they’ll be here?”

“I’ll get them to you by morning.” Viktor assures him, “Is there anything else want?”

Yuri contemplates this for a moment before says, “I want you to feed them to me.”

Viktor raises an eyebrow, “I thought you didn’t like that.”

“Are you questioning your Emperor?” Yuri asks, his lips pursing, suddenly feeling annoyed.

His husband looks surprised at Yuri’s sudden change in tone, and he slowly says, “I certainly am not.” 

“Good.” He sharply answers.

Silence falls between them and Yuri continues eating his berries while some of the officials that are there for dinner talk amongst themselves. The next morning, he visits Viktor and as promised, he has the chocolates. Yuri almost wants to cry at how good they taste. 

But as the days pass, he begins feeling worse, especially in the morning. 

His birthday comes and goes and he feels no better. 

On a Tuesday, exactly twelve days since he turned seventeen, he wakes up feeling like shit. Not that that’s anything new, but when he opens his eyes, his medical droid is right by his side, blinking red. 

“What?” He asks it.

It just continues blinking and Yuri remembers finally that he had muted it months ago.

“Potya, speak.”

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Good morning! Good morning!”

Yuri instantly regrets it, the droid is way too loud for his tastes this morning.

“Urgh,” He groans, “Lower your voice or I’ll mute you again.”

The droid squeaks, “How awful, how awful! You forgot! You forgot!”

He runs a hand through his face, “Forgot what?”

“Your monthly pill! You forgot!”

Yuri blinks, bleary-eyed trying to understand what the droid is referring to, “No I didn’t. I took it four days ago.”

The droid pulls up a calendar, “You missed February! February!”

Yuri counts the days and denial immediately sets in, “I did take it. I _did_.”

“No! No! I was muted! You didn’t remember!”

Yuri’s heart rate begins picking up in that ugly, dreadful way. _No,_ he tells himself. _Nononononono. NO._

“Run a scan,” He barely manages to say through his trembling voice.

The droid does, and when it’s finished it gives Yuri the most horrendous news, “It’s been twenty-seven days since an egg has been fertilized!”

_This isn’t happening,_ Yuri tells himself, feeling cold, _This isn’t happening to me._

“Would you like to continue with the pregnancy?” The droid asks, “Or terminate?”

The easy answer—the _right_ answer—should be to terminate immediately. _I’m not ready to be a parent,_ Yuri thinks, _There’s no way. No way._ But then a more miserable thought takes over, _I will never have this chance again._

His eighteenth birthday was less than a year away, no matter what happened, in the next year or two his fate would finally be decided. The chances of him dying were so high that thinking otherwise was fruitless. 

A week later, and he still hasn't made a decision on what to do.

The explosion goes off mid-morning, and it wakes him up. He looks outside the window and sees the Emperor's wing on fire. Many things go through his head at once, but before he can actually understand what's going on, he's already running. He rips out Potya's memory disk and takes off into the hallway. His feet carrying him farther and farther away from the explosion. 

The prevailing thought in his head is: _I don't want to die. I want to live. I want to be happy._

_Live. Be happy._

_Live. Live._ Live. 

* * *

When Yuri wakes up, he’s alone.

He reaches out to find Viktor but when he realizes that it’s just him on the bed, he sits up quickly, looking around and finding no one. His heart seems to sink in his chest when he realizes it had all been a dream. He chews on his bottom lip, feeling stupid as he rapidly blinks away the tears that are welling up in his eyes. 

_You’re so stupid,_ He tells himself, _he’s not here._

He wipes his nose with the back of his hand, slips off the bed, and tries to calm himself down. His bare feet touch the cold floor and he almost shudders at the contact. He’d been so sure—so sure that his dream had been real. 

That Viktor had told him he loved him and kissed him and touched his growing bump and said, _Yurochka, it’s wonderful_. 

It had felt so real, _so_ real but it wasn’t. 

It was only a dream, a trick of his subconscious that dangled in his face the things Yuri wanted. 

He stands on unsteady legs, wanting suddenly to get away from this room, he’d be better off in the guest room, not here—where he felt the absence of Viktor like a void.

He quickly slips on his shoes but just as he’s ready to run out of here, the door of the room bursts open, and Viktor comes in. Yuri freezes in his spot.

Viktor notices him immediately, and gives him a wide smile, “Good morning, Your Majesty,” He says teasingly, “I hope you slept well. You’ve been asleep for more than twelve hours. I brought you food,” He holds up the platter in his hold but his smile falls when he sees the look on Yuri’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“Uhh—I thought—uhhmm,” Yuri begins, but then shakes his head, “Nothing. Nothing.”

Viktor sets the platter down on the table, and Yuri watches his every move, hoping that what he's seeing is not a delusion. 

His husband comes up to him, cradling his face in his hands, "Don't lie to me," He says, very seriously, "Tell me what's wrong?"

Yuri's lips tremble, and his tears spill down his face, he whispers, "I thought it was a dream."

Viktor's face softens, immediately understanding what Yuri was talking about. "It's not," He reassures him, "I'm right here." 

"Don't leave me alone," Yuri begs, clinging to his shirt.

"I won't," He promises. 

Even after Yuri has gotten a hold of himself, Viktor doesn't let him go. He eats sitting on Viktor's lap and when Nora comes to get the dirty dishes, she doesn't look at Yuri in the eyes. 

"The servants think I'm your mistress," Yuri tells Viktor when she's gone.

He laughs, "They're in for a surprise then."

"They sure are," Yuri mumbles. 

For the next couple of days, Viktor stays with him and doesn't leave Yuri's line of sight, but eventually, Viktor has to seat him down and tell him about the things that are about to happen in the capital. He tells Yuri about the coup that has been in the works for years. He asks Yuri to side with them, and Yuri knows that he has to do it for his people. 

Suri is brought to the villa and she wraps her arms around him, crying into his shoulder, "You're alive," She sobs, "I am _so_ glad."

"Thanks," He tells her.

Mila also hugs him, her hands trembling, "You're never leaving my sight again you little brat."

Otabek doesn't say anything but he wraps Yuri up in a bone-crushing hug that makes his ribcage hurt. 

When Yuri is leaving with them, in his full Emperor's regalia, he stops as he's making his way out into the transport and addresses Natasha, "Thank you for taking such good care of me. I will definitely bring Viktor back to visit more often."

Her eyes widen when the realization sets in. He doesn't wait for her answer and doesn't look back at the shellshocked faces of the other servants. He's content in letting them lose their minds on their own time.

Viktor grabs his hand and doesn't ever let go. 

It's the beginning of their long journey together.

His destiny, with Viktor by his side, is very different from what Yuri imagined for himself.

It's much more beautiful, much more shining, much _happier_.

* * *

**THE END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so this was supposed to be something short just to like, give insight to the 3 months Yuri spends at the villa in the first part, and ohohohohoho, it got wayyyyyy out of control. i mean, this thing was going for 17k and I was like ok, no. i need to like, cut some things out bc that's too much. way too much.  
> so anyway, i hope you enjoy this and kudos to you guys for reading this massive 'extra' chapter that ended up being it's own story. smh.  
> anyway, thanks to all that commented, bookedmarked, and left kudos on the original oneshot. now it's a twoshot. (but really it's a 'novella.') i'd say I need a hobby but like...this...is my hobby. so...
> 
> hopefully now I can move on with my life and finish on working on my other incomplete works bc this is ridiculous.  
> byyyyeeee!  
> until next time!

**Author's Note:**

> ok. this got really out of hand idk why. it just kept getting longer and longer and I felt like it would never end!!!!  
> but let me know if you liked it! comments are always appreciated. (please!)
> 
> also, i didn't go into a lot of detail about this but i imagine Yuri's 'imperial robes' to be as ostentatious as padme amidala's queen's garbs. lololol. 
> 
> see you guys next time!


End file.
